Love & Mayhem
by Amasis Isis-Ra
Summary: Gakupo was an ordinary man that spent time with his friends. He didn't tell them his secret nor did he want them finding out. When he meets members of a group called The Legendary Five, things get real out of hand for him. He learns things about himself that he didn't even know. How will it all play out? Co-Writer: Kerrie Thompson
1. Campsite

Chapter 1

Campsite

The purple-haired samurai was walking through a campsite with a few of his friends following close behind him. His long hair was tied in a samurai style ponytail. His right hand was resting lightly on the handle of his sword, his blue and white robes blew slightly in the gentle breeze, which whipped his hair around him. His friends were quiet and his gaze was set forward. Gakupo stopped walking briefly so he could look back at his friends. "We should almost be there…" Gakupo said to them in a low yet gentle voice. Miku walked up to stand next to him, she looked tired.

"It's about time… I'm tired…!" she complained. Miku was dressed in a gray tank top and a gray ruffled skirt with blue edgings on both parts of her clothing. She has her long teal blue hair tied in pigtails that hang down past her waist. She is wearing a gray tie over her tank top and dark gray shoes. Her hair is tied with dark blue hair ties. She also has light blue eyes set in a gentle face. Gakupo shook his head to her statement.

"You're always tired, Miku," Gakupo said bluntly. He looked at the others that were with him. "How are the rest of you holding up?"

"My feet hurt but other than that I'm fine," Gakuko answered. The young woman had long dark purple hair tied in a ponytail and magenta eyes set in a gentle face. She was wearing white and purple robes that are similar to her brother's clothing. She however did not carry a sword.

"I'm fine… but I'm hungry!" Rin complained. The young woman had shoulder length blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail with a white bow. She has big blue eyes set in a calm face. She is wearing a white tank top with a small white bow on the neck of it and white shorts. Her favorite food was an orange. Gakupo merely looked at the group that had followed him to the camp.

"The campsite is within sight so stop lagging behind and let's get a move on," the samurai said with a huff. He turned away from them and ran on ahead leaving them behind.

"Wait up!" the teal-haired girl shouted. "I think I'm going to faint!"

"Oh come on, Gakupo-kun! Slow down! My feet hurt and I want to eat!" Len shouted angrily. The younger boy had short blonde hair tied in a side ponytail. He is dressed in a white shirt and white shorts. He has blue eyes set in a gentle face and he's Rin's older twin brother. Len loves eating bananas more than anything.

"Yeah!" Rin shouted. "Can we stop for a few minutes?"

"Why does he always run off like this Gakuko-chan?" Luka asked. She had long pink hair that she leaves out and falls down to her lower back. She is dressed in a black tank top and black skirt both with golden edgings. She has black bands on both arms and gold and burgundy half sleeves on her forearms. She has on black leggings and brown knee length boots. She has blue eyes set in a gentle face, though she can turn on someone quicker than one two three if someone got in between the ones she loved and herself. She has a Yandere personality.

"I have no idea," Gakuko answered. "He seems to have more energy than the rest of us."

"I guess he's on a diet of leeks," Miku interjected. The samurai stopped running and faced Miku immediately.

"I hate leeks with a passion," he snapped. Miku rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"Ah sorry, my bad, hehe…" Miku muttered.

"My favorite food is the eggplant, remember?"

"Oh yeah! Silly me!" Miku laughed nervously. Gakupo turned around again and continued walking towards the campsite.

"This is no time to start a fight, Gakupo," Kaito said. Kaito Shion was dress in black slacks with a white and blue long coat on. He is also wearing a dark blue scarf around his neck. He has short dark blue hair and deep blue eyes. He loves ice cream is very easily made happy. Kaito considers Gakupo a friend though the samurai finds him annoying and creepy.

"Kaito's right, let's not fight… not until we have some food!" Rin piped up. Len punched his sister hard on her left arm.

"Let's not fight at all!" he countered.

"Shut it!"

"Will you two stop arguing?" Meiko asked. Meiko is dressed in a red tank top that showed her belly and a red skirt. She has short brown hair and brown eyes. Meiko is close friends with Kaito and even seems to like him.

"Sorry," Len and Rin said simultaneously. Meiko shook her head and watched Gakupo as he continued walking. The samurai made it to the campsite ahead of them and he turned to wait for them at the entrance for them to catch up. Miku and Rin stopped next to Gakupo breathing heavily.

"We made it at last!" Miku and Rin said together. Len and Kaito came to stand next to Gakupo followed closely by Meiko, Luka, Neru, and Gakuko.

"We finally made it!" the Tsundere girl said. Neru Akita has long orange-yellow hair that is tied in a side ponytail and comes down past her waist. She has orange eyes set in a cold looking face. She is dressed in a gray-black tank top and skirt; both have yellow edgings. She has gray-black half sleeves on her forearms also edged in yellow. She has black combat boots that come up to her knees. She has a Tsundere personality that makes her seem coldhearted towards new people until she warms up to them. The orange-haired woman looked around her surroundings. Meiko went ahead and set up the girls' tent while Kaito started to set up the boys' tent. Miku was standing off to the side watching as she ate a leek.

"This is a nice place to camp," Miku said offhandedly. Kaito stuck his head out of the unfinished tent and looked at Len.

"Len, could you give me a hand, please?" the blue-haired man asked.

"Um sure?" Len answered. The younger boy went to help Kaito fix the tent and it only fell on top of both of them. Miku and Rin started laughing at them. Len stuck his head out from the messed up tent and glared at the two of them.

"That was a fail!" Miku laughed. Gakupo went over to Kaito and Len and looked down at them.

"Baka Mitai?" he asked them.

"They can be stupid at times, Gakupo-kun!" Luka laughed. She clung to the samurai's left arm like he was going to disappear forever. Gakupo looked at the pink-haired woman strangely.

"I think someone likes you Gakupo-kun!" Miku giggled uncontrollably. The purple-haired samurai glared at the teal-haired girl.

"Shut up!" Gakupo shouted. He pulled Luka off his arm, helped Len and Kaito to put up the tent while mumbling under his breath and Miku kept giggling as he worked.


	2. Surprised Meeting

Chapter 2

Surprised Meeting

Gakupo kept mumbling under his breath even as they got the tent up and ready. He looked at the others that had come with him without saying anything for a long while. "I'm going to get some water for the cooking," he finally said.

"Okay~!" Rin said joyfully. The samurai grabbed a bucket, headed towards the river that was not too far from the camp, and knelt down to fill up the bucket. With his growing anger, the spell that hid his true identity had faded and allowed his cat ears and tail to show. His tail was flicking back and forth on the dusty ground while his ears were perked up for any danger that might come his way. A young woman with long gray hair and gray eyes that went by the name of Farren Hawkins walked down to the river carrying a bucket in her arms. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a blue jean jacket over it; she was also wearing blue jeans and gray sneakers. Her long gray hair was tied in a ponytail at the back of her head and her eyes were focused on the river ahead. The Neko looked up when he saw that his sunlight was blocked by another person.

"Um… hi…" Gakupo said in a low voice, his ears going back.

"Erm… hi…" the girl replied. She clutched her bucket even tighter. Gakupo stood up since he had finished filling his bucket.

"I guess I will see you around," Gakupo said to her with a slight bow. He turned away and his tail flicked Farren's leg lightly. Farren blushed slightly and knelt down to get some water.

"Who was that guy?" she muttered in a low voice, not knowing that Gakupo heard her. "Did he have a… tail…?" Gakupo turned and looked back at Farren.

"Where are my manners?" he asked. "My name is Gakupo Kamui. It is a pleasure to meet you." He bowed briefly again and stood back up as he flicked his ears slightly. Farren stood back up with a full bucket in her arms and smiled slightly.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Farren Hawkins." Gakupo flicked his tail back and forth and watched her silently for a moment before he spoke next.

"Are you here alone?"

"No, I'm here with my friends," she answered. "We're… um… going to be camping here for a while. There are five others."

"Ah I see," Gakupo said in a gentle voice. The samurai turned away again with a slight blush n his face.

"I'll see you around then I suppose," Farren said. With that she turned and walked back towards her campsite.


	3. Neko Anger

Chapter 3

Neko Anger

Gakupo headed back to his side of the camp, his face still flushed a light red and forgot to hide his ears and tail from his friends. He set the bucket down by the fire pit as his tail flicked a log. He seemed not to be paying any attention to those around him. Miku came up behind him and looked down at him. "Hey!" she said happily. "How about we explore the campsite?" Gakupo doesn't respond to her, he continued to set up the logs, and lit a fire using a box of matches and lighter fluid.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked the samurai. "You seem awfully quiet now…" Again Gakupo doesn't respond, his ears are back and his tail was still.

"He seems different…" Luka said folding her arms over her chest.

"Yeah…" Miku said slowly. "Do you think that something happened to him when he went to get some water?" Len spotted Gakupo Neko ears and tail, which were the same color as his hair.

"Eh? Where did those come from?" Len asked. He pulled the samurai's tail hard causing him to hiss and round quickly on the younger boy.

"Aw! Gakupo has Cat ears! And a tail!" Miku said somewhat happily. "But why?" Gakupo hissed again and ran for the trees. _Damn it! They weren't ever supposed to see me this way!_ Gakupo thought to himself angrily.

"What just happened?" Rin asked confused. Gakupo made his way deeper into the trees and ended up finding Farren's campsite.

"I think Gakupo just ran off that way…" Miku said pointing towards the trees. Gakupo didn't want to return to the campsite where his friends were. He figured that they would hate him for what he really was. He leaned against a tree and breathed heavily trying to calm his heart rate wanting to stay hidden as long as possible. His ears were back and his tail was down behind him not moving. He didn't know what to do anymore. _I have no idea what to do now. They might hate me for what I am…_ Gakupo thought to himself. Soon he slid into a sitting position near the tree he had been leaning against.


	4. Unwanted Welcome

Chapter 4

Unwanted Welcome

Gakupo remained hidden in the trees trying to calm his breathing. The trees lent him shelter from the sunlight so he wasn't seen by anyone nearby. He watched Farren and her friends as they moved about in their campsite. Farren had come back with the water and a girl with long orange hair, fox ears, and was wearing a red kimono came over to Farren and took the bucket. "I'll take this and start boiling it. I'll let you know when dinner is ready," Sakurajima said as she carried the bucket over to the fire.

"Alright," Farren muttered. She headed to where Drake and Adrian were sitting and sat in between them. The samurai's ears were laid back as he watched them silently. "Next time, you're getting the water, Drake." Farren had spoken to the white-haired man on her left side. Drake shoved her gently.

"Yeah, all right," Drake said. Drake Stevens was a little hotheaded, always getting into fights and other things. He's also caring on the inside and is extremely brave. He is basically a whiny person when he doesn't get his way. Farren glared at Drake because he had shoved her. Adrian Hawkins was different. He normally stayed quiet and preferred being alone. Nevertheless, he is actually caring towards others on the inside and is very protective over Farren. He also had an eyepatch over his left eye because he can no longer see from it. He was twenty-one years old. Aquarius Winters is very, very shy. He wore a mask over his mouth to hide his shark teeth. He normally helped the others with things like cooking or fetching wood for the fire. He's actually brave, but he doesn't show it much. Adrian looked at Drake and Farren and shook his head slightly before he stood up and got some firewood to put on the dying flame. Farren sighed and looked up at the sky and wondered about the man that she met at the river earlier. Nighttime had come and let the stars come out. The samurai's tail flicked a tree branch which caused Aquarius to look in Gakupo's direction but did not see him.

"Um… there's something over there in the bushes…" Aquarius said and pointed in the direction where Gakupo was hiding. Gakupo stood up and pressed his back against the tree that he was closest to. Farren looked towards the trees and pulled Aether from its sheath; this weapon was a bow that could take on the shape of a sword.

"I'll go check it out…" Farren muttered. She walked towards the trees nervously. Gakupo backed away slowly as she drew nearer to his hiding place.

"Be careful, Farren," Adrian advised.

"Should I go with her?" Drake asked.

"Who's there?" Farren asked. "Show yourself! I'm armed and I'm not afraid to attack if you try to harm my friends!" Farren drew even closer to the samurai.

"I am also armed," Gakupo said in a low voice.

"Don't worry, Drake, Farren can manage herself, she is the strongest of the Legendary Five," Sakurajima said. Gakupo's eyes flashed in the half-light from the fire causing Farren to jump back in shock.

"What the –?" Farren asked confused.

"Actually…" Sakurajima said, "I think you should go and help her, Drake." Farren took a closer look at the man standing in front of her until she recognized him.

"Hey! You're Gakupo Kamui! You're the man that I met at the river!" Farren exclaimed. Drake came forward and pressed the blade of Puralux against Gakupo's throat.


	5. Feeling Unwanted

Chapter 5

Feeling Unwanted

Drake still had his sword pressed against the samurai's throat, he had not drawn his sword, and his hands remained at his side. "Back away slowly and you won't be harmed," Drake warned. The samurai pointed to his own swords which are on the ground in front of him.

"I come meaning no harm," Gakupo said. "I am unarmed…" Gakupo's ears are back and his tail was still.

"Drake, no!" Farren said stepping forward. She pushed Puralux away from Gakupo's throat. "He's a friend of mine!" Sakurajima had come forward to see what the commotion was.

"He has cat ears and a tail…" the Kitsune girl said as she looked the purple-haired man over.

"You never mentioned him before now," Drake said as he lowered his sword to his side and then sheathed it.

"You never even asked if I saw anyone at the river, idiot!" Farren protested.

"Fine be that way," Drake muttered. Drake walked away muttering under his breath. Farren sighed and muttered under her breath and then turned to face the samurai.

"Why are you here Gakupo?" Farren asked. Gakupo's ears remained flat against his head. "Are you okay?" Sakurajima came closer to Gakupo and looked at him slightly confused.

"Excuse me, sir, for my asking, but are you a Neko by any chance?" the Kitsune asked.

"I am a Neko," Gakupo finally spoke. "And I am not alright at the moment…"

"How come? Is it that my friend…" Sakurajima gave Drake an evil glare, "may have frightened you?"

"I am not easily frightened by him. My friends more or less have made fun of me…"

"Oh… that's rather harsh…" Farren said. Gakupo looked away sadly.

"They never knew that I was a Neko. Frankly, I never wanted them to know either." Sakurajima nodded and smiled.

"I see… anyway my name is Sakurajima Sasaki. I'm a Kitsune, so we should get along quiet well."

"You're a fox. I'm a cat. How could we possibly get along? I am only asking."

"Well, I don't bite and I don't mind meeting a Neko," the Kitsune said. "Now, why are you here?"

"I had to get away from them for a while. One of the boys had pulled my tail and it hurt." Gakupo flicked his tail towards the Kitsune.

"Ouch… that sounds terrible; I can't imagine someone doing that too me if I had a tail," Farren said while she cringed slightly. "How about you stay here with is for a while? Then you can confront your friends later. My friends and I could come with you if you'd like." She smiled at him very politely which he returned somewhat halfheartedly.

"Thanks…" Gakupo looked at the four boys and his ears went back down.

"I will stay right here…" Gakupo said. And with that he sya on the ground where he was standing.


	6. A Feeling of Discomfort

Chapter 6

A Feeling of Discomfort

Farren turned towards the four boys. Jack Zelpha, who used the earth element, is basically the bully of the group. "How about you three introduce yourselves to Gakupo?" Farren asked the boys. Gakupo remained where he was sitting and stayed quiet.

"Why don't you send the little kitty back to his friends?" Jack sneered.

"He can go back to where he came from," Drake answered. Drake sat down on a log and Farren glared at the two boys that had spoken.

"You two are just selfish!" Farren exclaimed. "He didn't do anything wrong and you two are already being mean to him! Just leave him alone!"

"I didn't do anything…" Aquarius said slowly feeling hurt.

"I don't mind him being here as long as he doesn't cause any trouble," Adrian said. Farren nodded her head and sat down accepting a bowl of soup from Sakurajima as she handed bowls of food out to everyone. The Kitsune then looked at the Neko samurai.

"Do you want any soup?" she asked him. The purple-haired man nodded his head slowly.

"S-sure," he stuttered. Sakurajima handed Gakupo a bowl of soup.

"Just ignore Drake and Jack, they can be quite harsh on new people," Sakurajima said.

"But I didn't do anything to deserve that…" the samurai muttered. Gakupo looked at Farren and turned a light red. Farren glanced at him and looked away again turning a bright red herself.

"That's true. Drake is just very protective over Farren most of the time and Jack is just harsh to everyone that he meets. He hates everyone that he sees…" Sakurajima continued. Gakupo looked away from Farren and didn't respond to what the Kitsune said. Farren continued to eat her soup while she looked up at the sky. The samurai slowly ate his soup as the Kitsune whispered in his right ear. "You like Farren, don't you?" Gakupo only turned a brighter red at the question.

"I uh…" he stalled. Sakurajima laughed and gave Gakupo a pa on the back while still whispering to him.

"It's fine, I won't tell anyone, I promise." Gakupo looked down as his ears flattened to his head.

"Thanks…" the samurai muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," Sakurajima said as her fox ears and three fluffy tails appeared.

"Y-you didn't…" Gakupo stuttered. Drake looked over at the samurai having finished his soup and having heard part of the conversation.

"You better not have any ideas, cat-boy!" he snarled.

"Drake, THAT'S ENOUGH! Don't make me come over there and set your hair on fire!" Sakurajima threatened as she faced the white haired man. She lifted her left hand making a little ball of fire appear in the center of her palm. The samurai remained silent with his head bowed as he continued to eat his soup.


	7. Pending Danger

Chapter 7

Pending Danger

Farren walked over to Sakurajima and Gakupo and blew out the flame that was floating above the Kitsune's palm before she looked down at the samurai. "Are you alright? You seem quiet. Do you want to go back to your friends?" Farren asked. Gakupo shook his head as he looked up at her.

"It's what Drake said to me… I hate being threatened…" Gakupo said. Farren gave Drake a very evil glare.

"You better stop threatening him or else you've finally crossed the line, Drake…!" Farren said.

"I didn't threaten him," Drake said offhandedly. "I merely told him not to get any ideas otherwise I will do something." In a flash of movement, Gakupo was up with his sword drawn and the tip pointed at Drake's throat.

"That is a hidden threat," Gakupo said in a deathly calm voice. "A samurai can always tell."

"Gakupo, no!" Farren yelled as she stood up and looked from Drake to Gakupo. "Both of you stop before I have to interfere and Drake should know what happens if I have to interfere when I'm furious."

"Farren needs to be angry or furious to use her power of wind and she will use it to stop others from fighting," Adrian said. "Drake and the rest of us are pretty much frightened of Farren when she uses her power since wind is the strongest element. I just thought that you should know, Gakupo."

"Each element has its own strengths and weaknesses. I could use the element of fire to my advantage, but I like fair fights," Gakupo said. The samurai lowers his sword and sat down again. He laid his sword at his feet and stared at the fire reflecting into the blade.

"This isn't good…" Farren pointed out. "Gakupo, maybe you should go now… Your friends will be worried about you."

"I doubt that they even noticed that I haven't come back yet," Gakupo huffed. "They are probably in bed already." Gakupo lifted his sword off the ground and then sheathed it once more. Farren sat down next to her cousin Adrian trying to get rid of some of her frustration.

"Good point, but it's best to explain to them what happened in the morning, they should understand," Farren suggested.

"I doubt that highly. They are the ones that made fun of me."

"Aw, the poor kitty got his feelings hurt!" Drake sneered.

"What a big crybaby and you call yourself a samurai! Ha! I bet that you couldn't even fight for your own life!" Jack laughed. Farren, who had sat down next to Adrian, stood back up as tornadoes began to surround her arms, her eyes were glowing a blue-gray as she grew more furious.

"BOTH OF YOU STOP RIGHT NOW!" she yelled. "Or else you both of you are going to regret saying those things!" The samurai remained silent as he finished eating; neither Farren's winds nor her raised voice fazed him at all. Drake and Jack shut up immediately at the pending threat.

"Thank you for the soup, Sakurajima-chan," Gakupo murmured as he set his bowl down on the ground.

"You're welcome, Gakupo-kun. I hope that you have a safe return back to your campsite," Sakurajima returned politely. Sakurajima bowed as Farren sat down by a tree still furious, but with the tornadoes now gone.

"I never said that I was leaving right now," Gakupo said. Adrian looked at the samurai regretfully.

"Well, and I don't mean to be rude, but we don't have enough room for another boy," Adrian said. Sakurajima nodded her head in agreement.

"In that case…" Gakupo mumbled. He stood up and bowed, then he handed the Kitsune his empty bowl which she took from him. "Until next we meet." The samurai turned and walked away into the surrounding darkness around the campsite.

"It's been nice meeting you, Gakupo-kun!" Sakurajima shouted into the shadows as Farren remained silent.

"Good riddance," Drake said. "Nice cover, Adrian."

"He wasn't lying, Drake," Aquarius muttered. Farren remained quiet as she looked up at the dark sky.

"Well done Drake. Well done Jack. You both managed to tick Farren off… again…" Sakurajima said as she crossed her arms over her chest angrily. The samurai returned to his campsite quietly and without harm.

"I didn't do anything, did I?" Aquarius asked in a small voice.

"No, you didn't do anything. Only Drake and Jack have, and they pissed my cousin off again," Adrian said to the Australian man.

"Right, off t bed with you lot," Sakurajima told the three boys and shooed them away from the fire pit. "Are you coming to bed, Farren?" Farren shook her head as the others headed to their tents to get some much needed rest.


	8. A Joke too Far

Chapter 8

A Joke too Far

The samurai stood in the empty clearing of his campsite; the others had already gone to bed. Night had fully fallen by now and the stars, fire, and full moon are the only real source of light for anyone to see by. However, even in pitch darkness the samurai could see, because of his cat instincts. He looked around at the camp his blue gaze falling on the two tents that stood not far from the fire. One was for the girls and one was for the boys. The flap for the boys' tent was open and Gakupo could see Kaito's blue hair which nearly blended in with the color of the tent. He looked at the girls' tent, which was red, the flap as closed. Kaito stirred slightly, opened his eyes, and looked directly at Gakupo who was standing by the fire. "Oh, look who has returned at last," he yawned. Miku woke up at the sound of Kaito's voice and unzipped the tent she was sleeping in. she yawned and looked at Gakupo.

"Hiya Gakupo," she said cheerfully. Gakupo didn't respond to Miku's greeting. "Listen… we're sorry for teasing you earlier…" The samurai had put a cloaking spell on his ears and tail before returning to the camp. Soon the rest of the camp was up and surrounding Gakupo and asking him tones of questions or apologizing for their actions earlier in the day.

"Why does it matter anyway?" Gakupo muttered.

"Actually the ears and tail suit you, they make you look cute," Miku continued.

"How do they suit me?"

"I don't know, they just do," Miku shrugged.

"I have a Neko for a brother!" Gakuko said joyfully.

"Oh boy here we go again…" Neru muttered.

"I'm sorry for pulling your tail," Len said in a low voice.

"Where did you go anyway?" Kaito asked.

"Good point, where did you go?" Miku repeated.

"I like your ears and tail; they make me love you even more!' Luka blurted out. The samurai took a few steps away from Luka a look of disgust on his face.

"I just went into the trees for a while to calm down," Gakupo answered as he eyed Luka wearily to make sure that she didn't make any move towards him.

"Oh, but that means you haven't had any dinner yet…" Miku said.

"I can hunt for myself," Gakupo said, his left sleeve covering him hand and hiding what he was holding.

"Oh yeah, I knew that…" The samurai dropped three rabbits at their feet that he had been holding in his left hand.

"Those are for tomorrow night's dinner…" Gakupo muttered before he went to his tent to get some sleep.

"Goodnight Gakupo-kun~!" Miku said.

"Yeah… goodnight…" Gakupo replied. The samurai climbed into his sleeping bag and was instantly asleep.

"We should dress him up in his sleep and make him look like a girl," Len whispered.

"That would be cruel," Rin objected in a whisper. "We already pissed him off. If we do it again and he might not forgive us!"

"Gakupo is a softy at heart he will always forgive us," Kaito said bluntly. "I say that we do it anyway."

"If you say so," Rin shrugged.

"I'm in for this one," Luka said cheerfully.

"I'm going to bed," Gakuko said and went to the girls' tent and Neru followed her.

"Count me in too," Miku said.

"Let's do this and get it over with already," Rin said. They grabbed some of Luka clothes; a pink dress blouse and a black skirt, and then they went into the samurai's tent with some makeup and dress him up as a girl. Finally they put the makeup on his face.

"Aww, he looks so cute~!" Miku cooed. When they have finished they all leave the tent.

**The Next Morning**

In the morning, the samurai woke up and stretched, not knowing what had been done to him, he got up and headed to the river to get more water for cooking. Not being fully awake, he doesn't notice his reflection in the water's surface. Farren headed down to the river carrying a bucket muttering to herself angrily. "I can't believe that I have to get the water… again! Damn Drake and Jack!" Gakupo filled his bucket, stood up, and saw Farren standing there.

"Good morning, Farren," Gakupo said somewhat cheerfully. Farren saw him dressed in Luka's clothing and dropped her bucket, her eyes opened wide in shock and her mouth opened wide.

"Er…" was all Farren could manage to say. The samurai looked at her confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. She merely pointed at him with a shaky hand.

"Y-you're…" she tried to say, but could not find the words for what she saw. When she couldn't speak correctly, Gakupo's confused look only deepened. Farren took a deep shuddering breath before she tried to speak again. "You're wearing women's clothing and you've got makeup on!" Gakupo's eyes opened wide and he looked at his reflection in the still river water.

"What the hell?" he growled agitated. "I'm going to strangle some people!"

"All I can say is that it wasn't any of my lot. Therefore, you can strangle them as much as you like," Farren shrugged before she picked up her bucket again.

"I know that it wasn't any of your friends and I might know just who did it."

"Who do you think it was?"

"Rin, Luka, Kaito, Len, and Miku," Gakupo answered. "Do you wish to come with me?"

"Sure, it would be nice to meet your friends," Farren said. "However, I think its best that you change back into your clothing and wash the makeup off your face. They might laugh at you for what you look like."

"They were the ones that did this to me and my clothes are back in my camp."

"Ah okay then, I suppose that my friends can wait for their water bucket."

"Yeah…" Gakupo turned away with a flick of his tail and muttered under his breath. "This is the last time that they will ever fuck with me!" Farren followed him back to his side of the campsite.

"This should be quite interesting to watch." Gakupo's left hand is resting on his sword's handle as he returned to his campsite. The others have woken up and when they saw Gakupo they started laughing at him, though this did not include Gakuko and Neru. Farren stayed behind Gakupo so not to suffer his wrath.

"Whose idea was this?" he demanded.

"You lot have really done it this time," Neru said indifferently.

"I'm out of this one and out of here," Gakuko said and turned away from her elder brother. She left the camp without another word. Farren watched silently.

"Erm…" Miku started but did not finish.

"TELL ME NOW!" Gakupo yelled angrily. Miku and Rin pointed at Len instantly.

"It was Len's idea," they said together.

"It wasn't my idea!" Len objected.

"Yes, it was," Miku insisted.

"Exactly!" Rin said.

"It was mine actually," Kaito said. The samurai rounded on Kaito immediately.

"I have told you all time and time again not to fuck with me in any way!" Gakupo yelled at them all. He stormed into his tent, changed his clothes, and then wiped the makeup off his face with a wet rag. "I am through with this bullshit!" He stormed out of his tent with a flick of his tail and headed for the forest.

"See? He is too soft to attack us," Kaito said uncaringly.

"Um…" Farren started. The samurai faced Kaito again, his anger showing on his face.

"You don't want me to attack you!" Gakupo growled as he took a few steps towards the blue-haired man. He unsheathed both of his swords and looked directly at Kaito, his anger flaring in his light blue eyes. Farren stepped forward slowly until she stood between Gakupo and Kaito.

"Gakupo! No!" Farren shouted. The samurai looked at Farren his anger still evident.

"They have asked for it!" he growled at her. However, instead of attacking those that pissed him off, the samurai threw both of his swords down so that they landed with the blade tips deep in the dirt.

"Just because they pulled a prank on you, it doesn't mean that you have to hurt them," Farren objected. "You need to just calm down! Please!"

"This isn't the first time that they have done something like this to me!" he protested heatedly. Gakupo walked away from the campsite with his tail fur fluffed out. He hoped that Farren would follow him. Farren looked at the others nervously and spoke quickly.

"My name is Farren. Its nice to meet you all! Bye!" She ran out of the camp after the samurai.


	9. A Feeling of Repent

Chapter 9

A Feeling of Repent

Campsite River

Farren met the samurai by the river, his sword sheathes are empty, he was kneeling by the fast running water staring at nothing in particular. She knelt beside him and touched her shoulder. "Are you alright, Gakupo?" she asked him. The samurai shook his head slowly.

"I got out of hand… Had you not stopped me, I have no idea what I would have done…"

"It's okay, everyone makes mistakes, even I do," Farren soothed. "I almost used my elements on two of my friends because they threatened and had a go at you." Gakupo looked up from the water and looked at her.

"I would have killed them though…" he pointed out bluntly.

"Oh, I see…"

"When my anger gets out of control, I can't really get a hold on myself…"

"Same here… I lose control of both my powers and myself. I even almost killed Drake the last time that I lost control of my anger…" Gakupo looked away from her after she had finished speaking.

"I am a danger and a liability to my friends…" he mumbled.

"So am I," Farren countered. "However, you must learn how to control your temper. To be honest, out of all of my friends, I'm meant to be the calmest, yet I almost had a go at them for what they said last night… but I do know how to stay calm."

"I know how to stay calm too, but they also know how to push me towards anger."

"Then tell them not to do it again."

"I have told them that multiple times already and they still do it anyway." Drake came by carrying the empty bucket for water.

"Nice of you to slack on your chores, Farren," Drake said.

"That coming from the boy who didn't even wash the dishes for three whole weeks when he was meant to be doing them at night!" Farren countered.

"Ah, I see that you've found your pet cat again." Farren glared at Drake but only sighed in reply.

"Just go and get the water filled and bring it to the others, Drake." Drake bent down, filled up the bucket, stood up again, and then poured the cold water over Gakupo's head getting him drenched. Farren stood up the wind around the area picking up greatly. "DRAKE!" The white-haired man looked at her indifferently.

"I didn't do anything wrong," he said with a shrug. With that said, Drake walked away again, the bucket still empty. Farren growled and then faced Gakupo as he winds died down.

"Are you alright?" she asked him again.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just a little drenched."

"Ah okay good…"

"Why did he do that for?"

"Drake can be a little bit of a prankster sometimes."

"I'll give him a prank right upside the head!"

"And so will I."

"Can I go back to your camp with you?" Gakupo asked. "My friends are a little on edge right now." Farren looked off at the water and didn't answer right away.

"Sure you can," she answered at last. "We don't need to leave you out in the middle of nowhere with no food or water." Gakupo stood up and shook himself, spraying Farren with water droplets from his clothing and fur. "Hey! Now I'm all wet!"

"Yes, but not as wet as I am," Gakupo laughed.

"We should get going." The two of them headed back to Farren's side of the campsite.


	10. A Surprise Visitor

Chapter 10

A Surprise Visitor

Campsite of the Legendary Five

The two of them walked in silence all the way to the campsite. When they got there, they entered silently; Gakupo had his hands clasped behind his back. "I'm back!" Farren shouted happily. The Kitsune looked at the two that just entered the campsite.

"Welcome back, Farren-chan!" Sakurajima said cheerfully. Adrian and Aquarius were sitting on logs close to the fire watching it. Adrian looked up when his cousin spoke.

"Where did you go?" Adrian asked from his seat by the fire.

"We were worried about you," Aquarius said in a low voice. Drake and Jack just ignore Farren and continue playing with the fire with long sticks.

"I just met up with Gakupo at the river," Farren explained. "It was no big deal really. It's not like I was going to get killed or attacked… right?"

"That cat could kill you and you wouldn't know until it was too late," Drake said.

"Well, I trust him, unlike you do…"

"You trust way too easily, Farren," Jack sneered.

"Oh really? I don't trust you at all… Zelpha…"

"Whatever you say, Hawkins." Farren sighed, grabbed her book from her tent, sat by a tree, and started reading. Gakupo remained standing by a tree as Drake and Jack stared him down. Farren glance up from her book to look at the two boys. Gakupo remained silent ignoring Drake and Jack to the best of his ability. Sakurajima walked over to Farren, knelt down, and whispered in her ear.

"Should I help Gakupo?" she whispered in her friend's ear.

"Help him only when he summons his swords, Sakurajima," Farren whispered back. The Kitsune nodded and kept an eye on Jack and Drake. Gakupo continued eyeing the two boys.

"Might I ask why you two are staring at me?" Gakupo asked them.

"Because you're an outsider," Drake said.

"Because you don't belong here," Jack answered. Farren let out a heavy sigh to what the two of them said. They were being arrogant and unruly and she hated that about them. _I can't believe that those two are even a part of the Legendary Five… the selfish bastards…_ Farren thought to herself as she glared at the two of them

"I bet that you can't even fight a monster if one attacked you," Drake snarled.

"You probably would cower behind your friends, useless samurai," Jack continued. The samurai's ears perked up as his eyes turned dark purple, his hair turned black as did the fur on his tail and ears. His robes turned black and were lined in red.

"You will be quiet now if I were you," the newcomer warned. Farren looked at Sakurajima who had stepped in at last.

"Drake, Jack, that's enough!" the Kitsune warned. "Leave Gakupo alone or else…!" That's when they noticed the change in the samurai's appearance. Farren got up and Sakurajima stared at the black-haired man with wide eyes.

"Gakupo? What's wrong with your appearance?" Farren asked confused but with a ting of awe. The man faced Farren, his cold purple gaze staring at the gray-haired woman.

"I am not Gakupo, though I do share his body."

"W-what?" Farren asked lost for words.

"My name is Obsidian Daisho. I take over when Gakupo's anger reaches a certain point…" Farren and Sakurajima just blinked and stared at him.

"Erm okay?" Farren said.

"He is just a hack of a samurai," Drake sneered. In a flash of movement Obsidian appeared in front of Drake and lifted him off the ground by his shoulders.

"Eh?" the gray-haired woman asked confused.

"I would stop with the name calling if you knew what was best for you, human."

"Put him down please Obsidian sir!" Farren shouted from where she stood. The black-haired Neko put Drake down and looked at Farren.

"Gakupo knows you, doesn't he?" Obsidian asked her in a low voice.

"Y-yes!"

"He even seems to love you," the man continued. He advanced on Farren slowly, his tail flicking back and forth.

"W-what?"

"Yes, I know what goes on through his mind," Obsidian said gently. Jack pulled the Neko's tail causing him to hiss and Farren backed away from him wearily.

"What the –?" Sakurajima asked confused. The samurai rounded on Jack his purple eyes flashing deviously.

"Sakurajima, help Jack!" Farren shouted. The Kitsune nodded her head and appeared in front of Jack, two katanas in her hands with another three held by her tails.

"Listen here, harm Jack and you're dead!" the Kitsune warned. However, instead of attacking the human, Obsidian faced Farren again and the gray-haired girl backed away scared.

"W-what do you want?" Farren asked.

"Why would I waste my time with him?" Obsidian asked. "I want no trouble to be honest with you." Sakurajima growled in fury, but Obsidian ignored her. Farren shifted slightly becoming highly nervous. The samurai's eyes turned blue again and he staggered forward.


	11. Further Understandings

Chapter 11

Further Understandings

Farren blinked in confusion and looked at the samurai. Gakupo staggered again and looked around, confusion crossed his face as he looked at each member of the Legendary Five. He had no idea what happened and seemed lost for words. "Gakupo?" Farren called. Gakupo fell to his knees in front of Farren, his body back to his original appearance. "Gakupo!" Farren called again as she knelt down beside him. "Are you alright?"

"D-did he…?" Gakupo started to ask.

"Did he what?" Farren asked confused.

"D-did O-Obsidian D-Daisho…?" Gakupo tried again.

"The man that appeared here not long ago said that his name was Obsidian Daisho," Farren confirmed.

"He was out then…" Gakupo said in a low almost faint voice. All Farren could manage to do was nod her head in answer. "Did he do anything to harm anyone?"

"Well, he…" Farren started. Gakupo looked at her when she started speaking. "He grabbed Drake by the shoulders and lifted him into the air."

"Did Drake say anything to him that he shouldn't have said?"

"Yeah," Farren said. "He called him a hack of a samurai."

"His temper is shorter than mine is," Gakupo sighed. "One should never call him names. Did anything else happen?" Farren only turned a bright red.

"Erm…" she said.

"Why does my tail hurt?" Gakupo asked ignoring the redness of the gray-haired girl's face. He flicked his tail slightly trying to ease the pain in it. Farren stayed quiet still blushing. Gakupo looked at Sakurajima as she hid her swords.

"Well…" the Kitsune started. "Obsidian Daisho was about to attack Jack so I had gotten in between them to defend him. Obsidian then turned to face Farren."

"I was never going to attack Jack," Obsidian said out of nowhere causing the others to jump slightly in fright. The black-haired Neko appeared beside Gakupo causing Farren to jump back. Gakupo looked at Farren, his eyes sparkling slightly.

"He appears out of nowhere like that from time to time," Gakupo said.

"A little warning would have been nice," Farren said wearily. The purple-haired samurai looked at Obsidian and then at Farren. The gray-haired girl backed away from Obsidian a little wearily. The black-haired samurai looked from Sakurajima to Farren and back again.

"Have I done something wrong?" the black-haired Neko asked.

"If you mean grabbing Drake by his shoulders and hoisting him into the air, then looking as though you were going to kill Jack," Sakurajima said. "I think you did something wrong." The samurai looked around himself leaving his back exposed to Drake.


	12. A Taste of Respect

Chapter 12

A Taste of Respect

Having remained silent for a while, the black-haired man decided to speak at last. He looked at each member of the Legendary Five before he actually speaks. "I only attack someone when I am attacked first," he said. Obsidian turned towards Drake, who charged at him with his sword drawn and slashed him across the chest faster than the samurai could anticipate.

"DRAKE!" yelled Farren and Sakurajima simultaneously. Obsidian staggered back as blood oozed from his open wound.

"Ha!" Drake declared triumphantly. "You can't even fight back!" Farren began to panic from Drake having injured the black-haired samurai knowing the mysterious man could easily kill them all without a problem.

"DRAKE YOU INJURED HIM!" Farren yelled at the white-haired man that still had his sword drawn and ready to attack again if need be. That's when the group noticed a similar wound on Gakupo's chest and Sakurajima covered her mouth in shock. Obsidian remained quiet as Gakupo stood up at last. Neither of them moved to do anything to the one that injured them. Farren looked at the two men completely shocked. Both men remained silent as the wind around them picked up, lifting dust off the ground and covering them from view.

"G-Gakupo?" Farren called confused. The purple-haired man faced her as his eyes turned red. Obsidian faced Drake his eyes a deep black. "G-Gakupo, are you alright?"

"Drake, you have screwed us over big time around…" Adrian said.

"He seems to be in a lot of pain…" Aquarius pointed out still looking at the two samurai.

"You should not have attacked him, Drake," Sakurajima said.

"He's being a big baby," Jack said bluntly. "That wound doesn't even look all that deep." Farren remained silent as Obsidian snapped his gaze in Jack's direction.

"This isn't going to end well…" the Kitsune said in a low voice. The purple-haired man fell to his knees and disappeared as Obsidian took control of the body. When the black-haired samurai spoke next, his voice was distorted.

"What did we do to deserve being attacked without warning?"

"O-Obsidian, please calm down!" Farren tried to reason with him.

"You invaded our camp!" Drake answered as he raised his sword again. Adrian backed away from drake to keep from being wounded himself. Jack, who actually sensed the danger from Obsidian, backed away from Drake as well.

"You're going to get us all killed, Drake!" Jack yelled.

"Farren, this wasn't supposed to happen, was it?" Aquarius asked his friend. Farren shook her head in answer unable to find words as she watched Drake and Obsidian stare each other down. She looked both frightened and upset as tears gathered in her gray eyes.

"N-no, I didn't want any of this to happen!" Farren finally managed to say. "All I did was introduce you all to a friend that I made… and Drake tried to kill him…" The wind slowly died down as Obsidian let his anger subside at last. He lifted his right hand to his chest and healed the wound before he faced Farren.

"I am sorry," the black-haired samurai said in a hoarse voice that seemed to be rarely used. He bowed slightly as Drake approached him from behind still having his sword raised for an attack. "Don't you know, Drake that attacking an opponent when his back is turned is dishonorable?" Obsidian asked without looking to see who was walking up behind him. Farren looked at Obsidian and took a deep breath.

"It's okay…" she said. "I think Drake should be the one to say 'sorry' to you, not the other way around." Sakurajima looked at Drake as he continued to stand behind the samurai.

"If he attacks you, Drake, then it will be your own ass…" the Kitsune said. Farren nodded slowly in agreement with Sakurajima. Obsidian doesn't face Drake, but he kept his gaze locked with Farren's gray-eyed gaze. The young woman continued to look at the samurai unable to find words to say to him. As Drake brought his sword down for another strike, the black-haired samurai turned around faster than the others could see, disarmed Drake, and pushed him to the ground without so much as harming him. He then stuck the blade of Drake's sword into the ground.

"You should never attack an opponent who has their back to you or is unarmed themselves," the samurai warned for the final time.

"Drake has good sword skills…" Sakurajima said. "I'm impressed." Farren looked at the Kitsune.

"Does that really matter right now, Sakurajima?" she asked.

"I let Drake attack the first time. I could have easily disarmed him," Obsidian said.

"Well, no, not at the time and point…" Sakurajima answered Farren.

"Right…" Farren said slowly. The gray-haired woman sighed and looked at the ground still feeling upset. Obsidian looked down at Drake.

"You got off easily this time, Drake," the samurai warned. "The next time won't be so easy." With that said Obsidian disappeared and let Gakupo take over again, he only slumped to his knees.


	13. A Wanted Friend

Chapter 13

A Wanted Friend

Sakurajima headed over to Gakupo and helped him to his feet. The samurai looked wearily at Drake. "Is he dead?' the samurai asked since Drake still hadn't gotten to his feet since Obsidian pushed him to the ground. The Kitsune shook her head in answer.

"No, he's just unconscious for the moment," she answered.

"Did Obsidian hurt him in anyway?" the samurai asked.

"No, but Drake tried attacking him from behind…" Sakurajima answered. "I have no idea what Drake was thinking…" Drake sat up and rubbed his head as he looked around the area.

"I'm trying to get rid of the invader," Drake groaned. "He doesn't belong here. At least not with us anyway." Gakupo's ears go down at this comment. Farren clenched her fists as tears rolled slowly down her cheeks.

"Just because he's an outsider doesn't mean you have to harm him...!" Farren yelled. "Why do you always have to attack someone who's my friend?"

"I don't trust him around you!" Drake countered heatedly. The samurai remained silent as he leaned on Sakurajima support. He watched and listened to the conversation between the Drake and Farren.

"I can take care of myself!" Farren yelled back at Drake. "I know how to fight and if Gakupo was an enemy, he would have attacked me the day that we met at the river!" She lifted her head up and glared at Drake anger flashing in her gray eyes. The samurai's Neko ears remained down as he looked at the ground sadly.

"Some enemies hide their true intentions!" Drake yelled as he clenched his fists in irritation. Why wouldn't Farren listen to what he was saying? Drake stood up and grabbed his sword pulling it out of the ground. Adrian stopped him from attacking Gakupo again.

"I don't sense any danger from him," Adrian said.

"Nor do I," Sakurajima added. "He smells normal to me based off my fox nose…" The samurai flicked his left ear at the Kitsune though he still said nothing to any of them at first.

"I am a Neko. We aren't hostile by nature. We can however get hostile if threatened…" Gakupo said in a calm voice trying to hide his pain. Sakurajima nodded her head in agreement as Gakupo looked at Farren. "Am I really unwanted here…?" Farren looked back at the purple-haired samurai.

"You're unwanted here by Drake and Jack only," Farren said. "However, I think the others don't want you to leave, right?" She looked around at the others.

"Just leave me out of this one," Jack said raising his hands up in surrender.

"I don't have a problem with him being here," Adrian said still holding Drake's sword down by the blade.

"H-he seems like a nice man…" Aquarius stuttered.

"He's a kind gentleman, I can tell you that," Sakurajima said sweetly. The samurai looked from Farren to Sakurajima and then back again.

"See?" Farren asked. "The four of us want you to stay… and you're always welcomed here." Gakupo nodded his head in agreement.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," Sakurajima said brightly before she looked at Drake and her gaze darkened. "Drake, you need to apologize right this instant!"

"No!" the white-haired man yelled. He stormed away from the fire and over to his tent.

"You selfish little bastard…!" the Kitsune muttered as she shook her head in annoyance.


	14. Neko Whore

Chapter 14

Neko Whore

Farren sighed annoyed, walked over to a tree, and then she sat down leaning her head against the trunk. The samurai went over to Farren and sat next to her. She looked at him while the others head off to do some chores. "I'm sorry for what's happened…" she muttered.

"It's alright…" Gakupo said waving her apology away. "You didn't know that Drake was going to do this…" The samurai looked at the hole in his robes from where he was attacked by Drake's sword and sighed heavily. Farren nodded and continued to look at the ground still frustrated.

"Yeah… I suppose that you're right…" she said in a low voice. Gakupo lifted her face up with his left hand under her chin; he took a deep breath, and then kissed her full on the lips. Farren froze in surprise, closed her eyes, and slowly returned the kiss. He held her close to him not sensing Drake standing behind him. Farren placed her head on he samurai's chest and closed her eyes again letting out a happy sigh.

"So are you two dating now?" Drake asked. Farren opened her eyes and bolted upright fully bright red in the face.

"I err… umm… well…" she stuttered lost for words and unable to make a coherent sentence. The samurai's ears went down and Drake hit him in the back of the head with the sheath of his sword knocking him unconscious.

"Stay away from her, you damned Neko whore," Drake growled. Farren's eyes opened wide in horror as the samurai's head landed in her lap

"Drake!" Farren yelled. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" She looked at the samurai her eyes wide in horror still.

"I went to see his friends to see how they were fairing," Drake explained as he gestured at the unconscious samurai. "Guess what the pink-haired woman told me."

"W-what did she tell you?"

"Mister Neko Whore right there is dating her and here he is kissing you behind her back." Farren stared at Drake too shocked to speak. Drake went to kick the samurai in the ribs, which grabbed his foot and pulled both feet from under him.

"Do you ever fully listen to what anyone tells you?" Gakupo asked angrily. Farren blinked in surprise. Drake broke his fall with his left elbow which made a loud snapping sound. The back of Gakupo's head was sticky with blood.

"G-Gakupo y-your head's bleeding!" Farren said still rather stunned. Drake groaned in pain as he tried to move to get up.

"You dumb bastard, you broke my arm!" Drake shouted. The samurai touched the back of his head and then looked at his fingers which are sticky with blood. Farren was shivering in fear at the mere sight of the blood. _I don't like blood especially if it's coming from a friend of mine…_ Farren thought to herself as she shook beside Gakupo. The samurai looked at Drake and then at Farren again.

"I better get going…" he mumbled almost incoherently. He staggered to his feet and stumbled forward some. Farren got up and helped Gakupo to his feet and kept him steady.

"But you're not in good enough condition to leave by yourself!" she protested. "I'll help you back to your camp!" Gakupo looked at Farren through blurry eyes.

"Then let me stay here…" he said slowly. Farren nodded her head and led Gakupo over to the camp again away from Drake.

"You can sleep in my tent," she offered. "I'll sleep outside in case _someone_ tries to attack again…" Farren glared at Drake as she finished speaking. Sakurajima walked over smelling the Neko's blood.

"What happened over here?" she asked. Farren looked at the Kitsune for a few minutes before she finally spoke.

"Drake attacked Gakupo when we were just talking…" Farren said quickly. "N-nothing else!" The Kitsune looked at Farren with a raised right eyebrow.

"You do realize that I can tell when you're lying right?" Sakurajima asked.

"Does that really matter?" Farren countered. "You need to get some bandages so that I can wrap Gakupo's wound!" Adrian came over rubbing his remaining eye having been woken up by the ruckus of everyone else talking or yelling.


	15. Legendary Disgrace

Chapter 15

Legendary Disgrace

Adrian looked around at everyone feeling clueless on what happened. He looked at Farren for a few minutes before he spoke. He lowered his hand to his side. "What happened now" Adrian asked drowsily.

"Drake attacked Gakupo again giving him a serious injury to the back of his head," Sakurajima answered quickly.

"What did Drake his Gakupo with?" Adrian asked. "Moreover, wasn't he told that attacking an opponent from behind is dishonorable?"

"Yeah, he was told that, but it seems that Drake doesn't care…" Sakurajima answered. Adrian shook his head in annoyance.

"Where is Drake anyway?" he asked. Farren pointed over to the tree where Drake was lying on the ground with her free hand.

"He's over there still I think," she answered. Adrian went over to Drake and saw that his left arm was broken.

"He has a broken arm…" Adrian pointed out.

"Gakupo did that by accident," Farren explained. "Drake was about to kick him in the ribs and Gakupo grabbed his foot pulling them from underneath him. Drake broke his fall with his elbow."

"What a disgrace to the Legendary Five he is," Aquarius said shaking his head.

"It's a shame that we'll need him…" Farren said nodding her head. "Or else I would take away his element and banish him from the Legendary Five…" Gakupo looked at Farren confused by what she said.

"She can actually do that too, Gakupo," Aquarius pointed out.

"Why not give the element to Gakupo…?" Sakurajima asked her friend. Farren shook her head slowly.

"I can't," she said. "Only Drake can wield the power of Light since he was chosen for it… I wish I could do that though."

"You never know what another can do until it's done," Adrian pointed out. "I sense great power in the samurai that he may not even know that he has."

"It might be possible, but Drake won't allow me to do it if I try to take away his element… he might even attack me…"

"I will protect you from Drake," Gakupo vowed. Adrian shook his head to what his cousin said.

"No, I mean he may have an element of his own that he doesn't know that he has," Adrian said.

"R-really?" Farren asked slowly.

"Yes…"

"Obsidian and Gakupo each have their own elements from what I can sense and what we were told before by Gakupo…" Sakurajima added.

"Do they really? Which elements do they have?" Farren asked.

"Gakupo has fire like I do and Obsidian has darkness like Adrian."

"Sweet!" Farren proclaimed. "However, what about your friends Gakupo? Won't they be worried about you?" Gakupo shook his head slowly; still trying to see through blurry eyes as the wound slowly stopped bleeding.

"They will be fine," the samurai said. "They can look after themselves." He had become lightheaded due to the bleeding from his cracked skull. Farren grabbed the bandages that Sakurajima was holding and wrapped the samurai's head to stop the bleeding.

"You should lie down and get some rest," Farren suggested. Gakupo nodded his head faintly; his eyes have dulled out as he made his way into the tent.


	16. Attempted Drowning

Chapter 16

Attempted Drowning

After the samurai had vanished inside Farren's tent, Sakurajima looked around the camp clearing thoughtfully. Something seemed to be on her mind and she was eager to ask her question. "Does anyone know how to awaken a dormant element?" she finally asked. Drake walked over to the small group, cradling his broken arm. Adrian followed close behind Drake in order to keep an eye on him.

"You're just going to let him stay here even after what he did to me?" he snarled angrily.

"What he did to you?" Farren growled in return. "You fucking attacked him and got what you deserved! If you didn't fucking attack him, then you wouldn't be here right now with a fucking broken arm!" With her growing anger, the wind around the camp started to pick up dramatically.

"Farren is now ticked off – officially ticked off…" Adrian pointed out. Drake flinched back from Farren in alarm.

"He shouldn't be here to begin with…" Drake said slowly. Farren suddenly grabbed Drake's throat and lifted him off the ground. Her hair was flying around her due to the powerful wind now blowing around the campsite.

"I am warning you, Drake, harm him again and that will be it…" she warned. "You'll be banished from the Legendary Five! Do you hear me?" Drake didn't respond since his air supply was cut off. Farren threw him to the ground and stormed off, the wind still highly powerful around her.

"You really screwed yourself over this time, Drake," Adrian pointed out bluntly. The others returned to their tents as Sakurajima followed her best friend. Drake looked at the tent that Gakupo had gone into. Farren had made her way to the river and was now sitting by it crying. Sakurajima knelt down beside Farren and hugged her close and tightly. Farren returned the hug and cried on her friend's shoulder.

"Drake is so in the wrong," Sakurajima said. "I'm surprised that Gakupo-san hasn't attacked him yet."

"S-same here…" Farren stuttered through her tears.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Obsidian attacked Drake the next time he decided to attack Gakupo."

"I wouldn't be surprised either," Farren agreed. "…but I don't want Drake to get hurt either… the same goes for Gakupo and Obsidian…"

"But if Drake brings it on himself, it's best for us not to get involved."

"R-right…" she stuttered. Farren took a deep breath and then sighed. Drake stood up and went into the tent; he looked down at the sleeping samurai a smirk spreading across his lips.

"I wonder…" Drake muttered under his breath. He grabbed Gakupo by his ankles and dragged him out the tent banging his head on the hard floor. Farren looked up at the sky deep in thought.

"I wish that everything would just return to normal…" Farren said.

"Things returning to normal would be without Gakupo though," Sakurajima pointed out.

"Oh yeah… but I want him to stay though…"

"So do I," Sakurajima said. Drake dragged Gakupo over to the river further upstream away from where Farren and Sakurajima are sitting. The white-haired man then pushed the samurai into the fast rushing water. Farren and Sakurajima hear a loud yelp and a heavy splash as the cold water wrapped around the weakened samurai. Farren watched as the samurai came downstream thrashing.

"GAKUPO!" Farren yelled. She got up and dove into the water after the samurai as he continued to flail in the freezing water. Farren swam after him, swimming as fast as she could. Sakurajima looked upstream to see who pushed the samurai into the water and saw Drake standing there with a huge grin on his face. Farren took a quick glance back to see the person that the Kitsune was looking at and saw Drake as well. "Sakurajima, knock Drake out!"

"All right," Sakurajima answered with a twitch of her left ear. The Kitsune went over to Drake and hit him in the back of the head with the butt end of her sword's sheath.

"Gakupo, hang in there!" Farren yelled to the samurai though she didn't get a response from him and he went under the water with a few air bubbles surfacing afterwards. Drake fell to the ground unconscious in from of Sakurajima. Farren dove under the water to go after Gakupo.

"What has gotten into Drake as of late?" Sakurajima wondered to herself. Farren reached forward and grabbed hold of Gakupo's haori. She started pulling him up to the water's surface even as he remained unresponsive. Farren resurfaced with Gakupo in one arm and she tried swimming back towards Sakurajima. Aquarius used his control over the water to help Farren. She pushed Gakupo onto the bank and then heaved herself out of the water coughing and shivering.

"Now what happened?" Adrian asked coming down the path from the campsite to see what was going on.

"Is…G-Gakupo breathing?" Farren coughed. Sakurajima knelt down and checked the samurai's pulse and breathing, but she didn't feel anything from him.

"N-no…" the Kitsune answered. Farren's eyes opened wide in horror to her friend's answer.

"Who knows how to perform CPR?" the gray-haired woman asked urgently.

"I-I do…" Aquarius said slowly, "but I'm not putting my lips on his…"

"I'll do that part!" Farren said quickly. She got up and then knelt down beside Gakupo by his head. _They're going to laugh at me for this…_ Farren thought to herself. The water element user placed his hands on the samurai's chest and pressed down several times. "Is it working?"

"Breathe into his mouth now," the Australian man said. Farren nodded her head and opened Gakupo's mouth. She leaned forward and placed her mouth on his and gently breathed into him. When she lifted her head, Aquarius pressed on Gakupo's chest again. "Breathe into him again, Farren." Again Farren nodded and breathed into Gakupo's mouth for a second time. The samurai coughed savagely and rolled onto his side spitting up river water mixed with some blood. Farren backed off a little with a sigh of relief.

"Gakupo!" Farren said relieved. The samurai looked around the area wearily, confused on how he got there.

"What happened?" he asked in a raspy voice. The bandages that were wrapped around his head were now soaked and covered in blood.

"D-Drake threw you into the river," Farren started. "I dove into the river after you while Sakurajima knocked him unconscious. As soon as I got a hold of you and brought you ashore, you weren't breathing so Aquarius and I had to perform CPR on you. I-I thought you were going to die…"

"I promised that I wouldn't die on you…" the samurai muttered. Farren smiled at him still completely drenched.

"Thanks," she said still smiling. Gakupo smiled at her while still laying on the ground. He let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes for a few minutes.


	17. Elemental Banishment

Chapter 17

Elemental Banishment

Riverbank of the Campsite

Drake woke up and slowly looked around his surroundings as he sat up. Farren looked at Drake, her eyes turning from kind and caring to being filled with hatred. Drake looked at her for a long moment before he finally spoke. The others were standing close to Gakupo just in case he needed help up. "What?" Drake asked. His broken arm was in a sling that he himself put on to keep it elevated.

"You've finally done it…!" Farren growled. "YOU'VE FINALLY CROSSED THE DAMNED LINE, DRAKE!"

"Oh have I?" Drake asked as he stood up, his broken arm still in the sling. Farren stood as well a circle of wind gathering at her feet.

"YES YOU HAVE!" When the samurai stood up, they members of the Legendary Five saw flames surrounding his body.

"You don't scare me, Farren," Drake sneered before he looked at Gakupo. Farren ignored the white-haired man and looked at Gakupo in amazement.

"You have pushed me to the point where I can no longer suppress my anger," the samurai roared. "I don't like using my powers unless I really need to!" Gakupo lifted his right hand and a sword surrounded in flames appeared in his clenched fist.

"Whoa…" Farren breathed amazed.

"Oh my…" the Kitsune muttered wide eyed. Farren looked from Gakupo to Drake. Adrian, Jack, Aquarius, and Sakurajima took a few steps back to get away from Gakupo just to be safe.

"This might not end well for Drake at all…" Jack said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Farren remained where she was beside Gakupo. The samurai's eyes were fire red as he glared at Drake.

"Arm yourself Drake," the samurai advised.

"Gakupo, stop!" Farren intervened. "I'll handle Drake! You need to try and calm down!" Gakupo looked at Farren briefly and gradually the flames around his body vanished as he sheathed his sword.

"Very well," he said. Farren stepped forward, her normally gray eyes having turned a glowing yellow color as she looked at Drake.

"Drake, you've caused too much trouble and you even almost killed an innocent man," Farren stated. "I have no other choice but to banish you from the Legendary Five…" She muttered something under her breath as a small white orb came out of Drake's chest and floated to her outstretched left hand. Drake staggered back from Farren as he felt his power being drained from his body.

"He is no innocent man…" Drake growled as he placed his right hand on his chest.

"Yes, he is!" Farren countered. "Now GET out of my sight!"

"He has killed people before…" Drake continued. He could see a part of Gakupo that even the samurai himself didn't know existed. He didn't know of the dark power that resided within his body that allowed him to do things to human souls that no ordinary person could do. There was a lot much about himself that Gakupo didn't understand nor did he really know about. Drake could see this dark energy within Gakupo unlike the others of the Legendary Five.

"NOW! GO!" Farren yelled at Drake again. Drake left the riverbed as Gakupo fell to his knees completely drained. Farren sighed heavily and knelt beside him still holding the white orb in her hand. "Are you alright?" Gakupo slowly shook his head as his body took on a faint white glow.

"His body is reacting to the orb in your hand…" Sakurajima pointed out. Farren blinked and looked at the white orb. The orb took on a red gleam when she brought it closer to Gakupo.

"What does this mean, Sakurajima?" Farren asked as she looked up at her friend.

"His body is compatible with the Light element."

"Should I give it to him?" the Leader of the Legendary Five asked.

"Yes, unless you want it for yourself," the Kitsune said with a shrug and Farren shook her almost instantly.

"I already have Wind and Sunlight as my elements and I'm fine with just those," Farren stated. "Did you forget that I could use sunlight since I am an Iliakos Angel?" Farren handed the orb to Gakupo who looked at it completely lost. Farren also looked at the orb as if waiting for something to happen.

"You need to put it to his chest so that his body can absorb it," the Kitsune said.

"Right," Farren responded. She placed the orb closer to Gakupo's chest; the orb entered the samurai's body and he let out a yelp of pain.

"GAH!" the samurai yelled.

"Gakupo!" Farren yelled immediately. The samurai doesn't respond to Farren's voice and worry crossed her face. She looked at Sakurajima worried and unsure of what to do.


	18. The Evil Mark

Chapter 18

The Evil Mark

Gakupo groaned in pain and the group could hear the sound of Drake's laughter echoing around the riverbank. Drake was standing a little ways away from them laughing. Farren looked at where Drake stood laughing and then looked back at Gakupo. The samurai's body twisted in pain as if he was being controlled. "Gakupo!" Farren yelled urgently.

"He's my play toy now," Drake sneered. Farren stood up and drew her sword while she glared at Drake. However, Drake disappeared from view. "Have fun with him."

"Damn it, Drake!" Farren cursed. The samurai's body lay still again and Farren knelt down next to him and shook his shoulder to get a response. "Gakupo!" The samurai still didn't respond to her at all. "GAKUPO!" Aquarius knelt down beside the samurai and touched his forehead lightly with his forefinger and middle fingers.

"We need to get away from him..." Aquarius advised.

"W-why?" Farren asked confused.

"The Shadowbane have him…" the Kitsune added in a low voice. Farren immediately stood up again in alarm.

"W-what?" she asked. Adrian merely pointed at the glowing red eye on Gakupo's forehead with his left forefinger. Farren backed away when she saw what was there. "N-no!"

"Drake marked him…" Sakurajima said sadly.

"I swear that I'm going to kill Drake when I find him…" the gray-haired woman vowed.

"We will find him in time," Jack said. "In the mean time, we have to tie him up." Slowly, the group helped Gakupo back to the campsite and laid him on the ground by the fire pit. When they returned to the camp, Jack pointed to the samurai and the mark on his forehead and Farren nodded her head in agreement.

"Aquarius and Adrian can you two do that for me?" Farren asked.

"Yeah sure," Adrian said reluctantly. The two men tie Gakupo up with his hands bound behind his back and close to a tree with the use of rope that they got from Farren's tent. Not long after he was bound by the tree, the samurai opened his eyes which are still the normal light blue color.

"What –?" Gakupo said alarmed. "Why am I tied up?" Farren looked at Gakupo and remained quiet as he looked back at her. "What happened? Why am I tied up?" he asked again. Gakupo fell into a strong coughing fit which caused his whole body to shutter. Farren looked at him wanting to help him through this. Gakupo spat up blood which covered his chest and lap. He didn't look up as his body continued to shake with the spasm that was going through him. Farren lost it and knelt next to the samurai, trying to think on how to help him. Gakupo merely smiled at her wearily. "Am I a bad person…?" he asked faintly.

"He may be marked but he seems perfectly in control of himself…" Sakurajima stated bluntly. Farren shook her head to Gakupo's question and untied him.

"You're not a bad person," Farren said. Gakupo remained seated, but he did rub his wrists from the rope being tied around them.

"Why did you untie him?" Jack asked. "He's marked by the Shadowbane."

"He doesn't seem bad though…" Farren answered.

"It doesn't mean that he can't turn on us later," Jack countered. Farren looked at Gakupo worried about him completely ignoring Jack. She saw the blood rolling down the samurai's chin and his body shook again, he looked very pale in the bright sunlight.

"Gakupo…" she muttered somewhat under her breath. Gakupo looked up at her his eyes glassy.

"Y-yeah…?" he answered faintly.

"Are you alright?" she asked still concerned.

"I will be when this coughing fit passes…" came his reply.

"Right…" Farren said looking down. The samurai smiled at her, tried to get up, and a searing pain went through his forehead. He put his right hand to his head and let out a loud groan of pain. "Gakupo please stay put!" The mark on the samurai's forehead was glowing a bright red.


	19. Dark Transformation

Chapter 19

Dark Transformation

Farren and the others look at Gakupo as the mark continued to glow. The samurai doubled over in pain as wings sprouted from his back, his nails grew in length, his single tail split into three and grew longer and thicker. His ears became larger and pointer as his fangs extended to his lower lip. He growled in pain as his body became covered in thick black fur. Farren immediately got to her feet and backed away from the transforming samurai. "What's happening?" the Kitsune asked as she watched in horror.

"I-I don't know!" Farren answered. The transformed Neko flapped his wings once before he looked at Farren, she could see the pain in his eyes. "Gakupo…" The beast didn't move from where he was crouching.

"F-Farren…" the creature growled out.

"Gakupo!" she called again. Drake's voice echoed around the camp clearing, his voice having taken on an evil tone.

"He isn't Gakupo anymore," Drake sneered. "He's my new play toy!" The white-haired man laughed viciously as Gakupo crouched down and covered his ears.

"Gakupo, you've got to ignore him!" Farren shouted to the beast. Gakupo staggered where he was crouching then he roared in pain and anger. The winged beast took flight and vanished into the night sky.

"Damn him!" Drake cursed angrily. "I can't control him!"

"We've got to find Gakupo soon…" Sakurajima pointed out urgently.

"I guess its time for me to use my Iliakos form…" Farren said. She closed her eyes and was suddenly surrounded by yellow flames. The flames died down after a little while to reveal Farren with large white wings that have grown from her shoulder blades.

"That's nice…" Jack said as he looked at the winged Farren. The samurai had taken off deep into the woods to get away from the tormenting voices that were in his head. The Legendary Five members heard a deep roaring from further away from the camp. Farren nodded and opened her wings wide.

"You lot need to try and follow me by land," the angel girl said. She flapped her wings, took flight, and headed towards the roar that they all heard.

"You got it," the Kitsune said. The group followed their friend from the ground. Gakupo roared again and knocked down several trees.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" the transformed Neko roared in a loud raspy voice. He held his head in pain as the voice of Drake continued to torment his mind.

"Gakupo please!" Farren shouted. "We want to help you through this!" Gakupo staggered as the pain became unbearable and he fell to his knees.

"There's no helping him now," Drake said in a snide tone. "His heart and mind are so corrupted that he can't tell friends from foes." Farren landed next to Gakupo who backed away from her, his blue eyes narrowed in pain and suspicion.

"Gakupo… you must fight it…" the gray-haired girl said gently. Gakupo staggered back again, his tails lashing the air in anger.

"Make it stop!" Gakupo growled. Farren stopped moving towards the samurai and tried to think of something that might help. The mark on Gakupo's forehead had burned deeper into his skin and his eyes turned bright red unable to fight it anymore.

"Gakupo!" Farren shouted.

"He has fallen into their grasp…" the Kitsune said as she caught up to Farren at last.

"We will have to attack him if he attacks us…" Adrian said slowly.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that…" Jack said.

"Why did Drake have to do this?" Aquarius asked. Farren remained silent for a long while. Gakupo made no move to attack, he remained where he was, his wings folded on his back.

"F-Farren…" the transformed samurai muttered.

"Sakurajima, how do we stop this?" Farren asked her friend.

"He has gained new powers from this transformation; the only way to stop him from attacking us is to find a way to remove the mark from his forehead…" Sakurajima explained.

"Right…" Farren said. "And that won't be an easy feat either…" Gakupo remained where he was when Drake appeared in front of him. That's when Gakupo reacted and lunged at the traitor. "He's not attacking us… He's attacking Drake!"

"That's new…" Adrian said. Drake disappeared when he saw Gakupo ten inches away from him.

"Damn you, you fucking useless Neko!" Drake swore angrily. Gakupo stopped his charge once Drake was out of his sight and remained still once more.

"Stay away from him, Drake!" Farren yelled.

"You can have him," the white-haired man said. "He's completely useless to me." Drake vanished from the clearing completely. The transformed samurai stood still, his tails weren't moving an dhis ears were perked forward for any suspicious sounds.


	20. Gathered Information

Chapter 20

Gathered Information

Forest Clearing

Sakurajima was watching Gakupo, keeping an eye out to make sure that he didn't move to attack the Legendary Five members. When she was sure that the samurai wouldn't attack any of them, she looked at her friend and spoke in a low voice. "Farren, I think its safe enough for you to approach him…" the Kitsune said. Farren nodded her head and walked over to Gakupo slowly so not to invoke an attack from him.

"Gakupo…?" Farren called lightly to the black-furred beast. Gakupo made no move to attack Farren but merely watched her silently. Farren moved closer to the samurai until she was within reach of him. He still made no move to attack her, he stood near seven foot tall and he looked down at her. "Gakupo..." Slowly she stretched out her right hand to touch his arm. He remained silent and unmoving; though it was clear that he was still breathing with the deep rumbling that he was making. Drake appeared behind Farren and grabbed her around the neck causing Gakupo to react instantly.

"Release her Drake," the samurai said hoarsely. Farren struggled against Drake's tight grip just to breathe.

"Drake… let me… go…!" Farren choked out. Sakurajima attacked Drake from behind with her sword, but his wound healed instantly and he laughed at her. Gakupo grabbed Drake's left hand, the one around Farren's throat, and broke it without so much as an effort.

"Leave her alone," Gakupo warned. Farren watched silently as she rubbed her neck and caught her breath. Drake stabbed his sword through Gakupo's stomach all the way to the hilt driving him away from Farren.

"Drake, don't you dare kill him!" Farren yelled. The samurai groaned in pain as Drake dragged the sword up towards Gakupo's chest cutting him wide open.

"And why not?" Drake asked uncaringly.

"Because I… I… erm…" the gray-haired woman stuttered. Drake took his sword out of the samurai's body and swung the blade through the air sprinkling Farren with crimson droplets of blood. Farren took a deep breath ignoring the blood drops on her face. "Because I love him," she finally managed to say.

"How could you love a monster like that?" Drake scolded. The samurai had fallen to his knees as he continued to bleed from the grave wound that he had suffered.

"He's not a monster!" Farren protested. She charged at Drake drawing her sword at the same time. "And I'm going to make you regret ever saying that!" Drake disappeared and Farren's sword went through Gakupo's chest.

"Hahaha!" Drake laughed. "Kill the very man that you said you love!" Farren's eyes opened wide in sheer horror. The samurai gasped in pain as he fell backwards landing awkwardly on his right wing and breaking it. "Hehehe, he will die soon! He's lost too much blood!" Farren fell to her knees completely speechless. Gakupo looked at her as the mark on his forehead vanished, but he didn't return to his humanoid form.

"F-Farren…" he muttered under his breath. Farren looked at Gakupo as she began to cry "Gakupo… I'm sorry… I'm s-so sorry!" Farren choked out.

"You freed me." The samurai muttered. "I will not die from this…" The samurai's body stilled as his breathing became shallower.

"G-Gakupo…!" Farren yelled. "Please d-don't die…!" Sakurajima walked over to Gakupo and touched his forehead trying to sense just how much life force he had left.

"He has fallen into a comatose state because of Drake's attack…" the Kitsune said slowly.

"I'm going to kill him…!" Farren swore. "I'm going to kill Drake…!"

"We'll help you," Adrian said. "First, we need to get Gakupo back to camp." The black-haired man looked around the forest clearing as he spoke. "I wonder why Gakupo came to this area anyway…" Farren looked around as well wondering the same thing.

"I'm not sure," his cousin said. The samurai staggered to his feet, his eyes unfocused, and Farren looked back at him. "Gakupo!" Gakupo's wings were down over his shoulders where the tips dragged the ground. His arms were hanging down because he had not fully stood up yet. He looked at her and then at the others, he seemed to confused and lost for words.

"Be careful, Farren-chan, I'm not sure how focused he is right now," Sakurajima advised. "He may not recognize who we are." All Farren did in reply was nod her head.

"Is that because of what Drake did to him?" Aquarius asked.

"Yes, Drake did this to him because he doesn't like him," Adrian said.

"Nor do I but I didn't try to kill him…" Jack added in.

"I knew that we couldn't trust Drake," Farren grumbled. The samurai took a step towards Farren, his gaze still unfocused. He stood up straight his tails dragged on the ground.

"I had told you that before, but you had suggested that we give him a chance, Farren-chan," Sakurajima said.

"Fine…" Farren sighed. The samurai lifted his clawed hands towards Farren causing the others to lift their weapons at the ready. Farren watched him while remaining silent.

"If he attacks, we will have to subdue him…" the Kitsune pointed out. Gakupo lowered his hands and took flight, his wing having healed from his sub sleep mode. He hovered above them not wanting to come back down. He growled at them seeing the glint of their drawn weapons.

"Lower your weapons… I think that's what's frightening him…" Farren suggested. The Legendary Five Members lower their weapons, but Gakupo still wouldn't land. "Gakupo…" Something glinted through the night air lit up by the full moon, and snagged the samurai's right wing and he is forced to land again, his wing was bleeding badly. The group heard Drake's laughter echoing throughout the crisp night air. The injured wing dragged the ground; they could see the sword still in his wing. Farren drew her sword and ran at Drake who was laughing while standing by a tree, he disappeared again instead.

"You will never catch me, Farren," Drake sneered. "You're much too slow." Farren growled and looked around the clearing for Drake. She heard Gakupo roar which caused the others to flinch at the sound. Farren ran back to the area where Gakupo and the others were. She saw that his wing was gushing blood. Farren ran forward to heal Gakupo's wing by using her sunlight element. Gakupo backed away from Farren upon seeing the sword in her hand, his tails lashed the air and his one good wing flapped wildly blowing air at her.

Farren lowered her sword to the ground and then raised her hands into the air to show Gakupo that she meant no harm. He folded the one good wing and looked down at her, his whiskers twitching. He sniffed her hands and set his hands on the ground in front of him in surrender. He lowered his head and his ears went back. "He surrendered…" the Kitsune said slowly. Farren nodded and walked slowly over to Gakupo's injured wing. He extended it to her without a word or a sound.

"I wonder if he can speak in full sentences…" Adrian thought out loud. Farren held her right hand over the wound after removing the blade from the flesh. She muttered something under her breath and a small ray of sunlight shot out from her palm onto the wound making it close up. Gakupo nuzzled her accidently knocking her to the ground. She landed on the ground with a light thud and then she looked up at him.

"I think he's thanking you…" Sakurajima said gently.

"Yeah, I think so too," came Farren's reply. Gakupo opened his wings and took flight.

"We should keep an eye on him…" Adrian pointed out. "He's a lot stronger than any of us…" Farren stood up, dusted off her clothing, and then nodded her head in reply.

"Yeah, we should," she said. The samurai headed back to the campsite ahead of the Legendary Five members.


	21. Reluctance

Chapter 21

Reluctance

Campsite of the Legendary Five

The members of the Legendary Five began heading back to their campsite while talking among themselves. "Could he kill us if he wanted to?" Aquarius asked. Farren looked at her friend not sure how to answer that question right away; she took a moment to think things through before she actually answered.

"I'm not sure, but I think I gained his trust," Farren said slowly. "Let's hurry up and get back to camp." Adrian was watching the samurai as he flew through the night air.

"Where's he going?" he wondered. Adrian ran after the samurai followed by Sakurajima and Aquarius. Farren and Jack quickly followed them. When they reached the camp, they could see Gakupo sitting where the fire was before it burned out causing Farren to blink in surprise. Gakupo merely looked at her.

"Gakupo…?" she asked. Gakupo walked over to her and she looked up at him.

"He understands English still…" Adrian pointed out.

"Yeah, it looks like he does," Farren said.

"Can he talk though, that's the question," Sakurajima said.

"Gakupo, can you speak?" Farren asked. The samurai twitched his ears at the question trying to get his mouth to cooperate with him.

"Speak?" he questioned.

"He's mocking Farren's word…" Aquarius said slowly.

"I don't think that he is…" Farren said. Gakupo was still fighting to get his mouth to work with the form that he was in, especially after the brutal attack that he suffered at Drake's hand. He looked at the group in front of him for a long time before he tried speaking again.

"Speak…" he said. "Gakupo speak English…" Farren nodded her head. He nudged her with his broad head. He continued fighting to get his words straight; he wanted to speak to them the right way. "I'm a monster…" Farren shook her head to that.

"No, you're not," Farren said. "You're just a little different in appearance." Gakupo opened his wings wide.

"No, I am a monster," he objected. "Drake made me this way because he hates me…"

"I'm going to try to find a way to turn you back to normal… I promise…" Farren vowed.

"Obviously, he can speak perfectly fine…" Adrian pointed out. Sakurajima looked at Farren closely for a few minutes before speaking.

"He has his human form still; he just has to think of it," the Kitsune pointed out. "This new form is permanently a part of him." Farren looked at her friend instantly.

"Really? He might be able to turn back to his original self?" Farren asked. Gakupo was listening to the conversation that was going on between the two women.

"Yes. He just has to remember what he looked like as a human. Though there is a chance that we might have to remind him." Farren nodded her head slowly in understanding.

"Right," Farren said. "Does anyone have a photo of Gakupo?" everyone shook their heads in answer to that question almost immediately. "Damn."

"I know what he looks like…" Sakurajima said slowly which caused the changed Neko to look directly at her.

"So tell him already!" Farren said almost in a demanding tone. The Kitsune thought for a moment before she said anything else.

"Um let's see…" she started. "He has light blue eyes, long purple hair that's tied in a samurai-style ponytail that comes down to his lower back. He wears a white and blue haori and hakumas, his boots are black. He wears red and black headphones plus he has purple cat ears and tail, and he has two swords strapped to his left side. In addition, I think he has blue gloves on his hands." The samurai continued to look at the Kitsune as he took in the information that she gave him. A bright red light surrounded his body as he took on his humanoid form again. He staggered on the spot instantly. Farren looked at him completely speechless. Gakupo fell to his knees in front of the group.

"What happened…?" he asked in a faint voice.

"Adrian, can you explain it to him?" Farren asked.

"I can't actually grasp it fully myself…" Adrian admitted.

"Neither can I," Farren said.

"Drake made you change form and marked you with the red eye of the Shadowbane," Aquarius said.

"The Shadowbane?" Gakupo asked confused. Farren looked at the others and then at Gakupo.

"The Shadowbane is an organization that's after my friends and me because we can use the elements and are the Legendary Five," Farren explained.

"Then why did he go after me?" Gakupo asked. He tried standing and fell down again with a groan of pain. Farren ran over to him and helped him up. He touched his right leg and felt the shin bone jutting out from beneath his skin.

"Are you okay?" Farren asked concerned. Gakupo nodded his head not wanting her to worry more about him.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" he mumbled. Farren noticed blood started to soak through Gakupo's hakumas.

"Gakupo; there's blood on your hakumas!" Farren exclaimed.

"That's because his shin is broken," the Kitsune said bluntly.

"I'll be fine," Gakupo argued. He stood up straight, but didn't put too much pressure on his injured leg.

"I'll take you to my tent," Farren offered. The blood flowed faster and the samurai staggered.

"We need him to lie down," Sakurajima said urgently as she watched the blood soak Gakupo's hakumas faster. Farren nodded her head and laid Gakupo down gently on the ground.

"Can you reset the bone and bandage the wound, Sakurajima?" Farren asked.

"Farren, you won't be able to heal that will you?" Adrian asked his cousin.

"No, I won't be able to Adrian."

"I can reset the bone and then wrap it. The reason why Farren-chan won't be able to heal it is because the wound is too grave for her powers to heal," Sakurajima explained slowly.

"What are we going to do then?" Farren asked concerned.

"We need to wrap the wound before Gakupo bleeds to death…" Aquarius suggested.

"That much we do know…" Farren said. The samurai stood back up and tried to walk on his own only to fall instead landing roughly on his injured leg. "Gakupo!" she ran over to him immediately. Gakupo didn't reply to her; his face was twisted in pain. "Gakupo, hang in there!" the samurai spoke through gritted teeth.

"I'm trying as best as I can," he grunted. Farren nodded and looked at Sakurajima.

"Have Adrian and Aquarius carry Gakupo into the tent an lay him own so that I can reset the bone and then wrap it in a splint," the Kitsune said gently.

"Adrian and Aquarius please carry Gakupo into the tent for Sakurajima," Farren said with a nod. The two boys nod, lift Gakupo up gently and carry him gently into the tent. They laid him on his back, being careful of his tail and broken leg. Gakupo was laying on the sleeping bag his breathing light and somewhat steady. Farren and Sakurajima were waiting outside for the two boys to finish. Adrian and Aquarius came back out of the tent after they ha settled the samurai down.

"He's lying down on the sleeping bag and waiting to be tended to," Adrian reported.

"Thank you," Farren said. She sat on the ground and rested her head on her drawn up knees. Adrian knelt down next to his cousin, concern written on his gentle features.

"Farren?" Adrian asked and she looked at him.

"Yes?" she replied.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about Gakupo."

"Why don't you stay by his side then?"

"He might hate me for when I tried stabbing Drake and I ended up stabbing him instead."

"I doubt he hates you," Adrian said. "Otherwise, he would not have allowed me you to heal his wing." Sakurajima went into the tent and began to tend to Gakupo's broken wing. First she reset the bone and then set his leg into a splint so that it would heal correctly.

"Oh… that's true…" Farren said faintly. Adrian patted his cousin's back gently with his right hand.

"He trusts you more than anyone else right now, Farren," Adrian said. Farren nodded her head and looked at the ground. Her cousin stood up and headed to his tent followed by Aquarius and Jack. Farren stood up and headed into her tent to stay by Gakupo's side.


	22. Shadowbane Taken

Chapter 22

Shadowbane Taken

Sakurajima looked up at Farren and wiped her forehead with the back of right hand. "Hey, Farren-chan, he is awake if you wish to speak with him," Sakurajima said gently.

"Alright, thank you so much," Farren said. Sakurajima stood up, left Farren's tent, and went to her own tent. Farren saw Gakupo lying on the sleeping bag, his breathing somewhat steadier. "Hey…" she said to him gently. Gakupo looked at her through hazy blue eyes.

"Hey…" he replied back in a low voice. Farren sat next to him.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked him still concerned.

"I'm just a little groggy," came his reply.

"At least that's better than being in pain…" Gakupo managed to give her a small smile.

"I suppose so…" the samurai said. "What exactly happened earlier? I can't seem to remember…"

"Well…." Farren said. "Drake turned you into this winged beast and tried using you against us. However, you managed to overcome that and fled. The others and I tracked you down into a clearing in the forest; Drake attacked and injured your wing. I managed to heal it and gained your trust in that form. After that you flew back to the camp." Gakupo looked away after Farren finished speaking, his eyes were narrowed.

"What kind of beast?" he asked. "Was I more cat-like than anything?"

"I think so, but you had wings." Gakupo refused to look at her as tears streamed down his face. "Why are you crying?"

"Drake more or less unlocked the beast within me," he answered. "The creature that I kept hidden most of my life… My true form…" There was more that he wanted to say about his true form. Like the simple fact that it wasn't fully showing its face yet. There was more to the transformation: it will become what he called The Black Sphinx.

"Oh… you didn't look bad in that form," she said gently. "You looked really cool actually."

"That may be so, but I can't control that form…" Pain shot through his body causing him to wince.

"Are you alright?" Farren asked immediately. The samurai curled into a ball as the pain spread throughout his body. "Gakupo!" His body began to shift back to the form that he just left; he tried to fight it wanting to stay in his human form. He rolled onto his back and the red eye appeared on his forehead again. His eyes hollowed out and turned a deep red. Farren backed away from him somewhat in fear. "G-Gakupo!" she yelled again.

Gakupo didn't respond as he continued to fight to keep his humanity as Farren watched in horror. He looked at his claws as they grew long and pointed. He tried fighting it even more, but then his body lay completely still. Farren knelt down beside the samurai feeling concerned for him. "Gakupo! Gakupo!" Farren called repeatedly. A shadowy creature appeared on Gakupo's other side.

"He is now ours," said the male Shadowbane member. Sakurajima came into the tent to see what was going on.

"What –?" Sakurajima question confused. She stopped and noticed the form that the samurai was in. "Oh my…" she said in a low voice. Farren looked from the samurai to her friend.

"S-Sakurajima, what's happening?" Farren asked. Sakurajima looked at Farren briefly and then back at the samurai.

"Get away from him, Farren, the Shadowbane has him." Farren stood up and stepped away from Gakupo.

"N-no!" Farren proclaimed. The shadowy man made the samurai stand up.

"He is our play toy now," the male member of the Shadowbane said in a cruel voice.

"G-Gakupo…" Farren said sadly. The samurai staggered forward but refused to attack and remained silent.

"He won't attack…" Sakurajima said slowly.

"He's trying to fight back against the Shadowbane…" Farren said as she looked at Gakupo. The samurai lifted his hands up to his head and gripped it in pain. He let out a loud bone-shattering scream. The man from the Shadowbane disappeared as the two girls covered their ears. Gakupo slumped to his knees as he took on his humanoid form again, his eyes were still closed and he remained silent. Farren looked at Sakurajima as they lowered their hands from their ears.

"Is he…?" Farren ventured.

"Is he what?" the Kitsune asked.

"Is he d-dead?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"No, he is still breathing…" Sakurajima said as she looked at the samurai. Farren gave a sigh of relief. The samurai fell forward landing face down in front of the girls. Farren helped him back onto the sleeping bag but Gakupo remained unresponsive. The gray-haired girl looked at him feeling rather upset. "His body is weak," the Kitsune continued. "He was forced into that form against his will twice in one night. He needs to rest. He also needs someone that he trusts to be by his side when he wakes."

"I'll just stay here then," Farren said. She sat down beside the sleeping bag and watched Gakupo as he rested. Sakurajima nodded her head and then left the tent to calm the three boys that came to see what was happening. Farren looked at Gakupo seriously worried about him. A few hours later, Gakupo's eyes flutter open and he stared at the top of the tent. Farren had fallen asleep with her head on the sleeping bag.


	23. A Feeling of Regret

Chapter 23

A Feeling of Regret

Around Midnight

Gakupo shifted slightly on the sleeping bag and looked at Farren. He ran his left hand over her cheek gently causing her to stir a little before falling asleep again. He used one of his swords while it was still sheathed to help himself to stand up; he managed to get up without waking the gray-haired girl that had fallen asleep on the sleeping bag beside him. He slipped out of the tent and into the open.

Farren woke up a few minutes later to find Gakupo missing. She looked around the tent before running out of the tent a worried look on her face. She soon found the samurai sitting by the river with his sword resting on his lap. He was staring into the distance his ears were down. Farren slowly approached him. "Gakupo…?" she called gently. Gakupo flicked his right ear slightly showing that he had heard her speak. Farren decided to sit on Gakupo's right side. "Aren't you meant to be resting?"

"I can't sleep," came the samurai's answer, his voice was low and somewhat unsteady.

"Oh why is that?" she asked looking at the water as the wind caused it to ripple. Gakupo looked at Farren for a few moments before he spoke next.

"I'm worried…" he admitted. Farren looked back at the purple-haired samurai.

"What are you worried about?" Gakupo flicked his right ear again.

"What do you think I'm worried about?"

"Are you worried about me?" Farren asked. Gakupo shook his head slightly as he looked at his lap. "What are you worried about then?"

"I'm worried about losing control of myself and losing who I am…" Gakupo said though he did not look up from his lap.

"Oh I understand…"

"I almost lost who I was back there in the forest…" he told her.

"Did you really…?" Farren asked. Gakupo nodded his head sadly.

"I could have killed you both easily…" he said in a low voice.

"Oh my…" Farren said and covered her mouth. Gakupo's ears flattened and he looked away. "I don't care. You're still my friend no matter what form you take…"

"That form was never meant to be released…" Gakupo stated bluntly. "Drake almost caused me to release it when he attacked Obsidian the first time…"

"I see…" Farren said with a nod of her head.

"The flames that surrounded my body were the beginning of the transformation."

"Right…" Gakupo refused to look at her as he explained this to her.

"I truly am a monster…" he said in a low voice. Farren shook her head to that.

"I don't care… I still care about you, even if you end up killing me in the end…" The samurai flinched at that and he really refused to look at her now. Farren looked at the ground and then she hugged him in which he returned. "I-I love you…"

"I love you too…" Gakupo said in a gentle voice. Farren laid her head on the samurai's chest. When he looked at her, she saw the red eye still on his forehead.

"Y-you've still got the e-eye on your forehead!" she stuttered.

"The eye?" he question confused. His eyes flashed red and he shook his head. Farren looked at him worryingly for a bit. "I will be fine…" He ran his right hand through her gray hair gently.


	24. The Black Sphinx

Chapter 24

The Black Sphinx

The Camp Riverside

A Few Days Later

As the days went by, Gakupo became more and more distant. Farren was watching the sky while sitting by a tree close to her tent. Gakupo, at the moment, was standing facing a tree in which he was banging his head on hard. The others were watching him; Adrian cringed each time the samurai's forehead made contact with the tree trunk. "Someone needs to stop him from beating himself up…" Adrian said. Farren was too busy daydreaming to hear what her cousin said.

"I have tried already," Aquarius said, "and he hit me for it…"

"He seems to only listen to Farren-chan…" Sakurajima said as she continued to watch Gakupo bang his head on the tree not caring that blood was beginning to splatter the bark. Farren looked at her friends, her gaze seemingly unfocused. The Kitsune pointed at what the samurai was doing. Farren looked in Gakupo's direction and saw what he had been doing. She stood up and walked towards him slowly.

"You should stop banging your head before you hurt yourself more, Gakupo…" Farren muttered. The samurai faced her and she could see the blood rolling thickly down his face from his forehead which he had busted open. Farren placed her right hand on his forehead lightly and healed the wound.

"Why do you care about me so much?" he asked in a hoarse voice that had not been used in a while. To Farren, Gakupo's voice seemed broken from the lack of use, something that she didn't like.

"Because I do," came her light reply.

"Even though I could go berserk at any time?" he asked.

"I will still care even then," she said with a nod. Gakupo hugged Farren which she returned immediately.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too," she whispered back. Gakupo lifted his head from Farren's shoulder suddenly and looked towards the camp entrance. Farren looked up at Gakupo confused. His eyes were narrowed in anger and she thought that it was because she did something wrong. "Is something wrong?" The samurai didn't answer her, his gaze still focused on what he was looking at. When he didn't answer her, she decided to follow his angry gaze. They all saw Drake stroll into the camp with a smirk on his lips. Automatically, Gakupo pushed Farren behind him and unsheathed his right-handed sword.

"D-Drake!" Farren called out in alarm.

"Did you think that I had forgotten about you lot?" Drake asked smugly.

"Um… no…?" Farren said almost in the form of a question. Drake looked at Gakupo as the samurai took a step forward.

"Gakupo… please… be careful…" Farren said in a low voice so that only Gakupo heard her. Gakupo unsheathed his left-handed sword and then lowered both to his sides. Drake watched him with his own sword drawn and at the ready. The Shadowbane mark on Gakupo's forehead flashed brightly momentarily.

"Why are you here, Drake?" Gakupo asked with a hint a scorn in his voice.

"I am here for you… Neko," Drake answered.

"Why are you here for me?"

"So that I can use you to destroy them!" Drake declared and pointed at the remaining members of the Legendary Five with the blade tip of his sword.

"You will have to go through me first to get to them!" Gakupo exclaimed. Sakurajima and the others draw their weapons and get ready to fight.

"You'll have to fight us first before you can even think of killing us!" the Kitsune shouted.

"That should be easy enough…" Drake said. He waved his left hand in the samurai's direction causing something to happen; the samurai doubled over in pain.

"GAH!" grunted the samurai.

"Gakupo!" Farren shouted. The samurai tried fighting the oncoming transformation. He was afraid that Drake would force him to take on his true appearance this time.

"Don't fight it Gakupo. You can never fight it. Let your anger out. Become the monster that you truly are," Drake said. The samurai's ears flattened to his head as the transformation started.

"N-no!" Gakupo grunted in pain. Farren drew her sword and charged at Drake.

"Damn you Drake!" she shouted. She went to swing her sword at Drake but the betrayer disappeared from view only to reappear in a tree that wasn't too far from where Gakupo was crouching. Farren skidded to a halt and ran after Drake again, this time she ran faster. Drake disappeared from the camp completely this time letting only his voice reverberate around his former friends.

"Have fun with my creation," Drake's voice said. "You won't be able to stop him this time."

"Damn!" Farren shouted again. The others looked wearily at Gakupo as his transformation continued. His wings were covering his body now, the tips touching the ground. He was still doubled over in pain as Farren looked at him worried. Sakurajima looked at Farren and then the samurai again.

"Don't get to close to him, Farren, Drake probably took what was left of his humanity…" the Kitsune said.

"All right…" Farren said reluctantly. The samurai lifted his head and looked at them his wings lifting off the ground showing the rest of his body and the weapons that had been in his hands. The black fur that covered his body was thick and dark; his clothes have disappeared. The swords, even though they weren't in the samurai's hands, were laced with both fire and darkness. His fangs reached his chin, his eyes were bright red, his ears were back, and his three tails lashing the air as he advanced on the Legendary Five on all four paws.

"We're so screwed…" Adrian said. Farren got in front of her friends and cousin with her arms stretched out to the sides.

"Gakupo stop!" Farren shouted not lowering her arms. "It's me, Farren!" the sphinx growled deep in his throat and lunged at her. Adrian pushed Farren aside and was rammed to the ground. Gakupo stood over the man with his sharp teeth bared and saliva dripping from his jaws. "ADRIAN!" Gakupo growled at the man under him, but he didn't attack nor try to kill him. "Gakupo stop!"

"The weapons…" Sakurajima said. "Lower your weapons." Farren lowered her sword to the ground slowly. Adrian tossed his sword away from him and remarkably Gakupo backed off and let the man up.

"Toss your weapons to the ground," Adrian said as he dusted off his clothing. "Surrendering is the only way that he won't kill us." Farren and the others threw their weapons to the ground. The mark on Gakupo's forehead flashed again and he fell to his knees placing his forepaws over his ears as a voice sounded in his head.

"Kill them Neko," Drake demanded telepathically. "I want you to kill them all."

"Gakupo don't listen to him!" Farren shouted. The sphinx banged his forepaws on the ground shaking everyone. Farren kept her balance by holding onto a tree. The black sphinx roared at the voice in his head and managed to speak for the first time since he transformed.

"Get out of my head!" the creature shouted.

"Gakupo you have to fight it!" Farren yelled.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" the sphinx roared angrily causing Farren and the others to cover their ears briefly.

"My, he can yell," Adrian said.

"So would you if you were in the amount of pain that he's in right now," Sakurajima pointed out.

"He must really be hurting," Aquarius said meekly. The mark on Gakupo's forehead dulled out and he slumped to the ground, his wings dragging the dusty ground again.

"Gakupo…" Farren said in a low voice. The sphinx didn't move when the gray-haired woman said his name.

"Is he dead?" Adrian asked curiously. Farren walked slowly over to Gakupo and heard the deep rumbling of him breathing.

"No, he's still breathing," Farren answered her cousin. The sphinx didn't lift his head when Farren neared him.

"Are you alright, Adrian?" the Kitsune asked.

"Yeah…" came Adrian's light reply as he looked the black sphinx over.

"Good," Aquarius said. Slowly, Gakupo lifted his wings just as Farren knelt down next to his head.

"Gakupo?" Farren questioned. Gakupo flapped his wings gusting up the dust. Farren backed away a little at this. The others that weren't close to the sphinx closed their eyes and covered their noses. Farren realized that she wasn't being harmed and she looked up at him feeling concerned for him.

"I am a danger to you all," Gakupo roared before he took flight.

"Gakupo wait!" Farren called. The black sphinx looked down at her as he hovered in the air.

"Yes?" he asked.

"He looks like a black sphinx…" Adrian said pointing out the obvious.

"Can you take on your humanoid form again?" Farren asked him. Sakurajima elbowed Adrian in the stomach. Gakupo shook his head and Farren saw a silver chain that Gakupo seemed to have always had on, it was dangling around his neck. The pendant on the chain was silver also and in the shape of a wing with a scythe crossed over it. In the center of the two was a red bloodstone. Farren stared at the chain as the sphinx landed in front of her.

"The chain locked me in this form," Gakupo explained. "This is my true from as a Neko. It's to prevent the darker side of me from escaping, but that part of me I don't even know what it is." He folded his wings and looked up at the sky for a moment before looking back at Farren. "I can't switch back and no one can remove the chain from my neck. I have to always wear it no matter what."

"Oh dear…" Farren breathed. Gakupo nuzzled her gently somewhat knocking her off her feet though she held onto his face.

"I am in control for now, that is until _he_ decides to come back again…" Gakupo said.

"Right…" Farren said slowly as she stroked the sphinx's right cheek.

"You just got yourself a pet black sphinx, Farren," Adrian said.

"I think that this is a little more serious than you think, Adrian," Jack said.

"For once, you're actually taking things seriously, Jack, I'm impressed," Farren said with a smile.

"Drake pissed me off, so yeah, I will be serious," Jack said.

"I see," his leader said. Jack rubbed the back of his head before he picked up his weapon which caused Gakupo to tense up immediately. "Jack, keep your weapon on the ground!"

"Why?" Jack asked somewhat oblivious to the threat that Gakupo posed at the moment.

"Gakupo might attack you, Jack, you never know with the state of mind he's in right now," Farren answered.

"He pummeled me to the ground remember?" Adrian asked.

"That's a good example right there, Jack," Farren agreed. Jack let his weapon clank to the ground again which allowed Gakupo to ease down once more. "Thank you, Jack." Gakupo laid down on rested his muzzle on his forepaws.

"Damn him…" the sphinx muttered. Farren sat down next to him to try and give him some comfort.

"Are you feeling alright now?" she asked him.

"I will be fine until Drake decides to come back again," the sphinx replied. Farren nodded slightly to the answer that was given. "I might end up killing you… and I don't want that to happen…"

"Hey, Mister Sphinx, do you have any powers?" Adrian asked suddenly.

"Will you please be serious, Adrian?" Jack asked.

"I am being serious."

"Will the both of you shut up?" Farren asked with a heavy sigh. The black sphinx flinched back from her raised voice and she looked at him. "Sorry…"

"It's alright," Gakupo said. He touched the necklace with his right paw and a shock went through him causing his body to tremble slightly.

"Are you alright?" Farren asked. Gakupo managed to shake his head and she stroked his cheek lightly. "Don't worry, we will fix this." The sphinx looked at her and then he licked her left cheek making her smile.

"Hey," Adrian protested. "I would like an answer." Farren looked at her cousin now wondering what he wanted to know this time. "Do you have any abilities in this form?" Gakupo looked at Adrian for a few minutes before he answered.

"I actually don't know if I do or do not," Gakupo said. Farren yawned covering her mouth with her right hand; the sphinx looked at her concerned. "You should rest," he said to her.

"But where should I sleep?" she asked him with a light nod. "Should I sleep in my tent?"

"You could sleep with me if you want…" he offered.

"That's fine by me." Gakupo yawned as well as Farren snuggled up against him. She was soon fast asleep curled up next to Gakupo's chest. He shifted himself slightly to get more comfortable. He laid his head down on his paws and just stared at the others as they stood there not knowing what to do. Sakurajima sat crossed legged against a tree looking around the campsite wearily.


	25. The Sphinx and the Fire

Chapter 25

The Sphinx and the Fire

Campsite of the Legendary Five

Evening Hours

Adrian was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest and he was looking at his slumbering cousin and the black sphinx. "Why does Drake have to be so… how could I put it…?" Adrian wondered out loud. Jack, who was sitting by the fire, looked up at Adrian with a scowl on his face.

"I don't know, Adrian," he said. "I can't read your mind."

"Gakupo seems to like Farren a lot…" Aquarius said changing the subject.

"It would seem so," Sakurajima agreed. "It looks like Farren likes Gakupo in return."

"And I was ignored again," Adrian butted in. "This is my cousin that we're talking about, you know."

"We are fully aware of that fact, Adrian," the Kitsune said hotly. Adrian looked at the orange-haired woman with narrowed eyes.

"I want an answer to my question about Drake," he returned almost as heatedly.

"I'm not sure why he is being the way he is," Sakurajima said calming down some.

"What made him turn on us?" Adrian asked this time. Jack stood up and went to the camp entrance to keep watch for either Drake or the Shadowbane.

"Again I am not sure why he did that," the Kitsune answered.

"I think I might know…" Aquarius said meekly. The Australian man looked at the ground where he was sitting by the fire. Sakurajima looked at Aquarius quite surprised.

"Really Aquarius?" she asked. "Could you explain it to us?" Aquarius took a deep breath before he explained what he thought happened.

"Drake likes Farren, but she doesn't like him in return. The fact that she likes Gakupo; a man that she only just met, must have hurt Drake deeply," Aquarius said. "Nevertheless, that still doesn't justify what he did to Gakupo. It was wrong on more levels than one…" He fell silent again feeling as if he said something wrong. Sakurajima looked at him and smiled.

"Aquarius that was great…" the Kitsune said. "In fact, that might be the reason too!" Aquarius looked at Sakurajima slightly red in the face.

"It was?" he asked trying to hide his blush.

"Indeed it was," the Kitsune answered with a nod. Aquarius looked away shyly.

"T-thanks…" Aquarius stuttered shyly. The sphinx lifted his head and nudges Farren slightly to see if she was alright. When he didn't get a response from her, he nudged her a second time with his head. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him.

"Huh…?" she questioned drowsily. The sphinx nudged her for a third time, this time knocking her over. "Hey…!" she replied sleepily. She saw that his eyes were shining with laughter which caused Farren to smile and pet his nose lightly.

"He seems to be enjoying himself…" Adrian said lightly.

"Climb on…" Gakupo said to Farren.

"Eh?" was all Farren could think of saying.

"Get on my back…" Gakupo urged. Farren nodded her head and climbed onto the sphinx's back. Jack faced the sphinx, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Where are you taking Farren?" Jack snarled.

"You still don't fully trust me do you, Jack-kun?" Gakupo asked.

"Why should I?" Jack asked. "You have the mark of the Shadowbane on your forehead. You could go evil at any point." The sphinx stood up and shook his fur free of the dirt.

"I'm sure that they'll be just fine, Jack," Sakurajima said gently.

"But he works for the Shadowbane!" Jack protested as he pointed to the mark on Gakupo's forehead.

"He doesn't work for the Shadowbane as long as Drake isn't around," Sakurajima objected.

"What if Drake finds them on their little 'flight' then what?" Jack snarled.

"Jack, get your head out of your ass and let's keep a look out here," Adrian interjected. "Gakupo and Farren can look after themselves."

"Gakupo can't control himself when Drake is around!" Jack yelled.

"Don't worry, Jack, he will be fine when Drake is dead…" Farren said. "…and I'll kill Drake when he comes for Gakupo." The sphinx spread his wings wide and lifted himself into the air. The sudden rush made Farren yell in delight. She held on tightly but still gently. Gakupo took off randomly in a direction away from the camp heading over the water. "Where are we going?" she asked him in his ear.

"Anywhere right now, I just need to get away from the stiffness of the campsite…" Gakupo answered her telepathically.

"Right, I understand," she replied and patted him on the back of the neck.

"You don't like that idea?" he asked her telepathically.

"No, I'm fine with it," she replied verbally. He flew quietly for a little while but he came to a stop in midair suddenly, his gaze locked on something that he saw on the ground. "Gakupo, is something wrong?" He hovered in one spot his eyes wide in horror as he saw the destruction down below. He pointed with one of his massive paws to show her. When she looked at what Gakupo was pointing at, her eyes opened wide in horror.

"Is it the Shadowbane?" Gakupo asked telepathically.

"Possibly… or it could be Drake…" Farren answered. He went lower still flapping his wings.

"If Drake were near the mark on my forehead would be glowing…" Gakupo said to her telepathically.

"Oh yeah that's right," Farren replied. The sphinx landed on the ground, the fire was everywhere, his tails flicked in alarm as he began to panic. He reared up on his hind paws knocking Farren off his back; she landed on the ground roughly. "OW!" Farren cried out. Gakupo took a few steps forward his tails still lashing the thick clouds of smoke rising up from the fires. One of his tails landed in the fire and caught aflame; this caused him to panic even more. He began stomping around the area in pain. Farren got up and ran over to him.

"Gakupo, what's wrong?" she asked the sphinx. Gakupo's eyes were dilated in pain as he looked at her. they heard laughter in the distance, but it wasn't the laughter of Drake.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a familiar voice asked. Farren immediately drew her sword recognizing the voice.

"Spirit!" she yelled. The sphinx reared up again, his tails dipping more into the fire directly behind him.

"Farren, get the others!" Gakupo yelled at her telepathically. "Or get out of here!"

"Well, if it isn't little Ms. Farren Hawkins," Spirit sneered.

"No!" Farren said to Gakupo verbally. "I've handled this man before! I can take him down again if I need to!"

"This time you cannot defeat me," Spirit said. The sphinx stomped his forepaws on the ground in anger and pain. Farren took out her cell phone and called Sakurajima who answered after the second ring.

"Farren?" the Kitsune asked. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Spirit's here!" Farren said instantly. "I think he might have caused the surrounding fires here! We need you all here immediately!"

"We're on our way," the Kitsune said before she hung up her phone and gathered the others around her. "We have to go and help Farren fight Spirit."

"What's going on?" Aquarius asked.

"Great, just god damn great more problems right after another," Jack complained.

"I hope that my cousin is alright…" Adrian said slowly. They group start to head to the location where Farren and Gakupo were.

"Why are you here, Spirit?" Farren asked.

"I'm here for the samurai sphinx that Drake got for me," came the man's answer. Farren took a step forward.

"Oh, I don't think so, you'll have to get through me first," Farren said.

"That would be rather easy," Spirit declared. The man waved his right hand and the mark on Gakupo's forehead started to glow red.

"Gakupo!" Farren yelled. The samurai brought down his right forepaw close to Farren causing her to jump back in alarm.

"What's going on?" Sakurajima asked as she skidded to a halt next to Farren with her swords drawn.

"Spirit has taken control over Gakupo!" Farren reported.

"I thought that only Drake had control over Gakupo," Adrian said as he came to a stop next to the Kitsune.

"So did I…" Farren said. The sphinx continued to stomp as his tails caught more on fire. He backed into the fires more and more trying not to attack his friends like Spirit was commanding him to do.

"You stupid beast," Spirit growled, "Attack them!"

"Aquarius put out the fires!" Farren instructed. The sphinx's legs buckled from under him and he took on his humanoid form the fires completely surrounding him in every direction. Spirit disappeared with a growl of frustration. Aquarius began to put out the fires as fast as he could.

"Useless creature…" Spirit's voice echoed around Gakupo.

"Where is Gakupo…?" Adrian asked.

"The hell if I know!" Jack scolded.

"Gakupo!" Farren called loudly. The samurai didn't respond to Farren calling him. as the fires died down, Farren could see him, his clothing was burned and tattered, his face was covered in burns, his hair was scorched, and he remained unresponsive to the water that was poured over him by Aquarius. Farren ran over to the samurai and knelt next to him.

"Gakupo, can you hear me?" Farren asked. "Gakupo?"

"How did he end up so far in the fires?" Adrian asked.

"I-I don't know I was too focused on Spirit," Farren answered.

"He was trying not to attack us like Spirit commanded him to…!" Sakurajima said having observed the situation before Gakupo collapsed. Gakupo continued to remain unresponsive to Farren's hands shaking him.


	26. Gray-Haired Neko

Chapter 26

Gray-Haired Neko

Camp of the Legendary Five

The samurai's body disappeared from view. "I will take him now if you don't mind," a new voice said. Farren looked around the destroyed village bewildered. She stood back up and continued to look around.

"DAMN IT!" Farren yelled. "NOT RAVEN TOO!" The black-haired man was standing in a tree not too far from where the group was.

"That is until next we meet," the one known as Raven said. After that he vanished from sight. Farren gave a heavy sigh of frustration.

"What are we going to do now…?" Aquarius asked.

"I don't know…" Farren answered sadly. Raven brought Gakupo to Spirit. The samurai was barely breathing and on the verge of dying. Spirit breathed new life into the purple-haired samurai and had him completely under his control.

"Now, my warrior, you will learn how to kill those that you once protected," Spirit said. The samurai looked at Spirit with hollow blue eyes.

"Yes master…" he said in a dull voice.

**Campsite**

Adrian looked around the area where he and his friends confronted Spirit and Gakupo. "Let's get back to the camp where it's somewhat safer to think things through…" Adrian suggested feeling uneasy out in the open where they could be attacked at any moment. He put his right arm around his cousin's shoulders and guided her away from the burnt ruins of the small village. Farren nodded and walked with Adrian. Sakurajima, Jack, and Aquarius followed them silently. When they got back to the camp they had a visitor.

"Where's Gakupo?" the orange-haired woman asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. Farren looked at the woman for a long moment before she finally spoke.

"Who are you?" Farren asked.

"My name is Neru Akita; I'm a friend of Gakupo's. You came to our camp once some time ago. We are getting ready to leave and head home and we haven't seen him in some time." Farren lowered her head unsure of what to say on that subject.

"We don't know where he is either," Jack said. "We will let you know if we find him."

"Much appreciated," Neru said. The woman turned and left the camp. Farren let out a low sigh. A faint outline of a black-haired samurai appeared in front of Farren, his black ears twitched slightly.

"Farren Hawkins, we meet again," Obsidian said gently.

"O-Obsidian?" Farren said shocked.

"Yes it is me."

"I was wondering when we'd see you again," Jack said.

"I am not here for a pleasurable meeting."

"Why are you here then?" Farren asked.

"It deals with Gakupo."

"Does it really?" Farren asked surprised.

"It is not good news though mind you."

"What is it then…?" she asked him.

"He nearly died when Raven brought him to Spirit," Obsidian started. "Spirit breathed new life into him and made him virtually unstoppable. He is completely without a will of his own. He will be sent out to attack the very ones he once fought to protect." Farren lowered her head looking as if she was about to cry. Obsidian Daisho lifted her head up gently with a hand placed lightly under her chin. "He can be stopped, but are you willing to do what is necessary to stop him?"

"Yes," Farren answered with a nod.

"You have to wound his body severely to the point that he will almost die," Obsidian instructed.

"Alright I will do just that…" Farren said slowly. Obsidian's ears were laid back now as he instructed his friend on what to do to stop Gakupo.

"Mind you that this will not be an easy feat since he is a skilled warrior," Obsidian continued. "He is a duel-wielding samurai."

"I know that," Farren said. Obsidian turned his back on her.

"I can lend you my strength to use against him," he said. Farren nodded her head slowly. "Because of what I am, you will take on a Neko appearance for the duration of the time that I'm within your body."

"I thank you for that," she said faintly. Obsidian touched his right hand to Farren's forehead, her body glow a deep purple, and then he was gone, within her body. Farren looked at her body, her gray ears twitched slightly while her tail remained still. "I'm a… Neko…"

"For the time that I am within your body, you will be a Neko. I don't know if the change will remain after I have left."

"You have ears and a tail just like I do," Sakurajima stated.

"Great another cat to deal with…' Jack said in an undertone.

"My cousin is a Neko," Adrian said as he played with Farren's ears. "They're so soft!" Farren looked at Adrian with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you mind?" she asked him.

"It will take you some time to get use to having tail and ears. Your senses will be sharper as well," Obsidian said to Farren telepathically.

"No, I don't mind at all," Adrian answered and kept playing with Farren's ears.

"Right…" she said. Adrian moved to his cousin's tail and played with it.

"It's so fluffy!" Adrian declared.

"Gods help me…" Farren muttered.

"Use your tail and flick him across the face," Obsidian advised her telepathically. Farren used her tail and flicked Adrian across the face.

"Don't touch the ears or tail!" she scolded. Adrian took a step back from his cousin and pouted.

"Oh why not?" he asked sadly.

"Because I said so!" she said. "We've got some serious business to take care of!"

"Like when Gakupo makes his next appearance," Aquarius pointed out.

"Exactly," Farren agreed.

"We should take turns staying up at night watching the camp…" Sakurajima suggested.

"Good idea," Farren said.

"I will stay up tonight and keep watch," Jack said to them. _I knew that I couldn't trust that samurai from the first time that I laid eyes on him. if he so much as harms Farren or the others; I will rip his throat out._ Jack thought to himself. Farren sat down by the fire, her arms crossed over her chest, and her tail swishing back and forth every so often.


	27. Neko versus Samurai

Chapter 27

Neko versus Samurai

Adrian looked at his cousin and then at the sky as he saw someone soared across the black sky. Adrian recognized who it was immediately and his eyes opened wide in sheer shock. "Oh shit…!" he said. Farren looked up from the fire to look at her cousin.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. Adrian pointed up at the being that was floating above them.

"It's Spirit…" Obsidian said telepathically. Farren stood up immediately and looked at Spirit; her hands were clenched into tight fists.

"I have someone for you to meet, Mrs. Farren," Spirit sneered.

"Who is that?" she asked. Farren's ears flattened in alarm. The purple-haired samurai appeared beside Spirit, when he spoke his voice was distorted.

"He wants you to meet me…" the samurai said in a distorted voice.

"Have fun with him," Spirit said before he vanished from sight with an evil laugh.

"G-Gakupo!" Farren said in shock. Gakupo landed on the ground in front of Farren, his ears were back and his teeth bore in a snarl. The burns that were on his body have healed completely leaving no marks behind. Farren backed away a little, her ears laid back somewhat in fear. Gakupo tilted his head to the left side.

"Are you ready to die?" the samurai asked her.

"Remember that he has no will of his own," Obsidian said telepathically. "He is doing what Spirit wants him to do. And Spirit wants you lot dead."

"I know this," Farren replied verbally. The samurai unsheathed his swords and advanced on her slowly.

"Draw your sword!" Obsidian advised Farren telepathically. Farren drew her sword slowly. She saw that her blade was laced with three unfamiliar elements.

"Obsidian… what's with these three elements…?" she asked the black-haired samurai in his mind.

"They are Gakupo's elements and my own element," Obsidian answered in her mind. "Gakupo's elements of Fire and Light and my element of Darkness; I am lending them to you for this fight."

"Right… thanks…" she answered verbally.

"I said that I will help you in any way that I can. However, keep the others out for now until you need the backup," Obsidian said telepathically.

"I got it," Farren answered verbally.

"Tell them!" Obsidian demanded instantly.

"Guys, I don't want you to get involved until I need the back up," Farren instructed her friends without taking her gaze off her opponent.

"Alright!" the Legendary Warriors shouted in unison.

"If we are lucky enough, Gakupo will still fight by his Bushido Code…" Obsidian said in Farren's mind.

"His what now?" she asked confused. Obsidian gave a deep sigh before he started his explanation.

"The Bushido Code is an honor code that a samurai must follow. They are not allowed to fight unfair battles," Obsidian explained through telepathy.

"And I'm guessing that I have to follow this code too?" Farren asked in the black-haired samurai's mind?

"If you want, I can take over the fight," Obsidian offered telepathically. "I am a samurai just as he is. I know the code. I live by it. He has to follow it."

"Right, but for now, I'm fighting him," Farren said verbally. "I'll let you fight him only if I need you to."

"As you wish," came the samurai's telepathic reply. "I will be silent from here on out until you need me again." And with that, Obsidian fell silent. Farren looked at Gakupo. The purple-haired samurai hadn't budged; he was watching her with hollow blue eyes.

"Are you ready?" the samurai asked.

"I'm ready…" Farren answered slowly. Gakupo tossed one sword to the ground and laced his remaining sword with his two elements. He again tilted his head to the side.

"May the best survive," he said as he bowed slightly to her, still in some way honoring his code.

"He's going to follow his code," Obsidian interjected telepathically. "You'll have a fair fight after all." Farren bowed slightly before she stood straight and held her sword at the ready.

"Kick his ass!" Adrian cheered. Gakupo merely glared at the Darkness user.

"You will remain silent while we fight," Gakupo advised Adrian. The samurai lifted his sword up and ready, but he didn't move to attack. Farren waited, beads of sweat running down her forehead.

"Tell Adrian to keep his mouth shut," Obsidian instructed Farren through telepathy. Farren glanced at her cousin quickly.

"Adrian, please stay quiet," she said.

"Why?" Adrian asked curiously. The samurai lowered his sword again and continued to glare at Adrian.

"Just do it…!" Farren almost shouted.

"Fine, Mrs. Bossy," Adrian said reluctantly as he folded his arms over his chest and waited silently for the fight to begin. The samurai looked back at Farren.

"Let us fight," Gakupo said at last.

"Indeed…" Farren said. The samurai launched at her, his sword at the ready. Farren launched herself towards Gakupo, her sword at the ready as well. He dodged her attack and skidded on the ground to a stop. Farren turned around and leaped at him. He flipped her over his shoulder, though she landed on her feet and swung her sword at his back.

"You have to do great damage to him in order to free him…" Obsidian said to her telepathically. Gakupo dodged before she could land the blow. He faced her again and gave her a smirk.

"You're not half bad," he said.

"In order to weaken him before I deliver the finishing blow, I already know that," Farren replied to Obsidian through telepathy. She ran at Gakupo again, moving quickly on her feet.

"You don't need to kill him… just nearly kill him…" the black-haired samurai replied back. Gakupo sidestepped her again.

"Right…" came Farren's telepathic reply. Farren stopped next to Gakupo and swung her sword at his stomach.

"You have mastered telepathy…" Obsidian observed. The samurai grabbed her sword by the blade and broke it. He used the broken piece to slash her across the chest.

"Actually, I already knew how to speak this way. Drake is telepathic, so I know how to speak with my mind…" Farren back flipped away from Gakupo's attack. Obsidian growled at the mention of Drake's name.

"He is the reason that we're in this mess to begin with!" Obsidian scowled in Farren's mind.

"Alright, I meant Stevens, does that sound better?" Farren asked him telepathically.

"Stevens?" Obsidian asked clueless.

"Pick up the other sword," Gakupo told Farren in a dull tone.

"Stevens is Drake's last name," Farren replied to Obsidian somewhat ignoring Gakupo.

"Ah, I see…" Obsidian said as Farren used her telekinesis to make the discarded sword fly to his outstretched hand, which she catches by the handle.

"Interesting…" Gakupo cooed. The samurai launched at Farren again and his sword came down across her chest. Farren quickly blocked the blade with her sword and pushed him back. He skidded on the dusty ground unfazed by the fight so far. Farren, however, was panting and sweating.

"Should we help?" Adrian asked. The samurai faced Adrian and advanced on him slowly.

"Shut your trap or I'll shut it permanently for you," he growled. Farren ran directly at Gakupo's back and attempted to slice his back open. _He should always watch his back…!_ Farren thought to herself. The samurai disappeared before Farren could fully land her attack.

"That attack breaks the code that he follows," Obsidian said telepathically to Farren. "He won't continue the fight…!"

"Damn!" Farren cursed telepathically. "I forgot that you couldn't attack from behind…! God, I'm pathetic!" Farren looked around slowly as the samurai appeared behind her.

"Have you no respect for the samurai code of honor?" he asked bluntly.

"I err… I forgot that rule…" Farren stuttered.

"We will continue this another time," Gakupo said. The samurai felt a scythe blade go through his lower back and out his stomach; he gasped in pain and coughed up blood.

"I can give two shits about your damn code!" Adrian snarled at the samurai.

"What the – ADRIAN!" Farren shouted. The samurai rounded on Adrian and lifted him up off the ground by his throat.

"I have respect for another's fighting style," Gakupo growled. "Why can't you do the same for me?"

"I think he's pissed now…" Sakurajima said pointing out the obvious.

"And to think I have him for a cousin…" Farren said telepathically with a sigh.

"Gakupo will not calm down after this attack," Obsidian advised telepathically. "It will set him on a rampage. You have your cousin to thank for that." The samurai tightened his grip on Adrian's throat.

"Answer me, human!" Gakupo demanded.

"Remind me to kill Adrian after this," Farren told Obsidian in his mind.

"I will," came his reply. Farren appeared behind Gakupo.

"Stay the hell away from my cousin!" Farren yelled at him. "This is our fight! Not his!" Adrian pulled his scythe out of Gakupo's body and used it to cut off the samurai's hand. Gakupo staggered back from Adrian as the man fell to the ground and he cradled his bleeding wrist.

"Damn you!" Gakupo cursed Adrian. Farren stood next to Adrian protectively, her tail flicking back and forth slowly, while her ears were back.

"Are you alright?" Farren asked her cousin.

"That's what you get for messing with my cousin," Adrian sneered. There was a broad smile on his face as he looked at the wounded samurai. Farren smiled briefly before she looked back at Gakupo.

"Let's continue this fight…" she said to him. The samurai showed her that Adrian had cut off his right hand; his sword hand. "Oh, I see..." Gakupo picked up his sword with his left hand.

"It's a good thing that I learned how to duel wield my swords…" he said as he looked at Farren. The gray-haired Neko got back into fighting position.

"Good," she said. Gakupo followed suit, eyed her wearily, and then he shook his head. Farren blinked in confusion.

"The wound to his back and stomach and the fact that his right hand has been cut off, he is losing a lot of blood," Obsidian said to Farren telepathically. "Adrian made this an unfair fight on Gakupo's part."

"Oh… so what do we do now?" she asked him in his mind.

"He looks like he wants to continue the fight. So fight him and see what happens. Mind you, he will be more on edge now that he has been wounded," Obsidian told her.

"Right," she replied. The samurai readies himself for a fight.

"Fight me," Gakupo said.

"You can beat him, Farren!" Adrian cheered. The samurai ignored Adrian as Sakurajima elbowed him in the gut for talking.

"Shut it, Adrian!" Sakurajima shouted in Adrian's mind. Farren ran and then leaped at Gakupo, her sword at the ready. Gakupo ducked under her and rolled on the ground away from her. Farren landed on the ground again and skidded to a stop, and then she looked at him. He looked at her in return. He held his chest as a sharp pain shot through him. Farren ran at him.

"Farren, be careful!" Adrian warned. The samurai made no attempt to attack her or to dodge the oncoming attack. Farren swung her sword at him. he waited for the oncoming attack and stopped the blade with his left hand at the last minute. Farren blinked in surprise. He then directed the blade towards his chest.

"Finish it. You have won," he said to her.

"W-what?" she asked and blinked in confusion.

"Finish it," Gakupo said again.

"F-finish w-what…?" she asked him still confused.

"He means to end his life…" Obsidian answered in her mind.

"R-right…" her mind replied back. Farren took a deep breath, pulled the blade out of Gakupo's hand which cut the skin open, and then swung her sword at his chest with a huge amount of power. The force sent Gakupo flying and he hit a tree trunk with a sickening thud.


	28. Another Betrayal

Chapter 28

Another Betrayal

Obsidian remained silent for a few minutes. He knew something that the others seem to have forgotten about him and Gakupo. There was something that Farren needed to know before she got to upset about the current situation. "He isn't dead… He only showed you what you had to do…" Obsidian said in her mind. Farren nodded her head slowly. The samurai staggered to his feet, the back of his head bleeding from his impact with the tree trunk. His chest and back were bleeding as well; the slash went from his collar bone to his left hip. He still bares the wounds that Adrian gave him also; the stab wounds to his lower back and stomach, and the fact that his right hand had been cut off.

"Kill that bastard!" Jack yelled to the other Legendary Warriors. Farren remained quiet while looking at the ground; her back was to the rest of the group.

"End this and you will free him," Adrian pointed out. Farren appeared in front of Gakupo again, her sword drawn.

"Forgive me…" she said to the samurai. She stabbed Gakupo through the chest narrowly missing his heart. Gakupo looked at her as his eyes returned to their former light blue luster.

"Thank you…" he panted. Gakupo fell backwards landing flat on his back. Farren looked at him and then closed her eyes trying not to cry; her sword's blade dripping blood.

"Did we win?" Jack asked her.

"What did I tell you that you had to do in order to win and free Gakupo?" Obsidian asked in Farren's mind. The samurai remained motionless on the ground as the mark on his forehead dissolved. Farren walked away from Gakupo slowly, pretty much ignoring Obsidian's voice; her ears and tail were down. "Farren, you haven't realized it yet, have you?" Obsidian asked again.

"What haven't I realized?" she asked him.

"If Gakupo were dead then I would not be talking to you right now…" Obsidian pointed out. Farren stopped walking suddenly at the mention of the link between Gakupo and Obsidian.

"You're right…" her mind said tot eh black-haired samurai. She turned around again and ran back to Gakupo, who still hadn't moved from where he landed.

"He's still breathing… but barely…" Obsidian said in her mind. Farren knelt down beside Gakupo on his left side.

"Gakupo? Gakupo, can you hear me?" Farren asked as she shook him lightly. The samurai's eyes flickered open slowly.

"F-Farren…? Is that you…?" Gakupo asked faintly, his gaze not focused.

"Why do you care for him?" Jack snarled at her. "He nearly killed us all!"

"Yes, it's me, Gakupo," Farren said ignoring Jack.

"Why do you bother with him?" Jack growled again. Obsidian appeared next to Gakupo briefly before disappearing again.

"Jack, I bother with him because he is my friend…" Farren answered at last.

"No, you love the motherfucker, even though he almost killed your ass!" Jack corrected her. "If it wasn't for Adrian's interference, you'd be dead!" Adrian walked over to Jack and punched him square in the face.

"Shut the hell up, Jack!" Adrian shouted.

"Thanks for doing that, Adrian, he was starting to give me a fucking headache," Farren said.

"He was giving me one as well," Adrian added in. jack hit the ground with a solid thud, his right hand covering his mouth.

"We seem to be falling apart…" Sakurajima said slowly.

"Yeah…" Farren agreed.

"And all because of me…" Gakupo muttered. He pushed himself up and then he realized the extent of the damage that he had suffered and he groaned in pain.

"Gakupo, you need to stay put," Farren said. "Sakurajima, can you bandage him up?" The Kitsune looked the wounded samurai up and down before she spoke.

"His wounds are too great for simple bandaging…" Sakurajima said.

"What can we do then?' Farren asked.

"The wounds to his back, chest, and stomach can be healed with your power over sunlight. As for his missing hand, he will have to learn how to fight with one hand…" the Kitsune answered.

"Right…" Farren muttered. She placed her right hand over Gakupo's chest and muttered something in ancient Greek. A small ray of sunlight shot from her outstretched hand landing on his chest, healing all of the wounds at the same time. Gakupo looked at his right wrist confused.

"Who cut off my hand…?" Gakupo asked in a low voice.

"Erm well…" Farren stalled. Gakupo looked at her questioningly. "You went after Adrian and he… had to cut your hand off so that you would release him…" The samurai touched the back of his head with his left hand and felt the stickiness of oozing blood.

"I'm a mess aren't i?" the samurai asked. "Who sent me after you lot?"

"Spirit sent you," Adrian answered.

"I wouldn't say that you're a mess per say…" Aquarius said gently. Jack stood back up, walked over to Gakupo with his sword drawn, and pointed the blade at the samurai's neck.

"I told you before that if you ever went after my friends, I would kill you," he sneered. The samurai didn't move nor did he object to the threat of the blade pointed at his throat. Farren walked up behind Jack and placed her sword at his throat.

"Let him go before I have to kill you, Zelpha," she warned.

"You care too much for an outsider," Jack pointed out. "You should have let Drake kill him." He lowered his sword slowly and Farren lowered her sword also.

"I wouldn't dare…" Farren muttered.

"You should have let Drake kill him," Jack repeated.

"Kill him for what?" Farren countered. "For being controlled by the Shadowbane? Kill him for being innocent?" Jack rounded on Farren fast and angrily.

"He should be killed for interfering in something that he has no idea about!" Jack spat. Farren walked forward until she was only a few inches away from Jack's face.

"He didn't interfere," she said with clear venom in her voice. "I allowed him to come into the camp, so this is my fault! Not his! So if you want to blame someone… then blame me!"

"You want me to blame my leader for something? Hmm… interesting," Jack sneered before he stabbed Gakupo in the stomach. "I think not." Farren quickly grabbed the sword before Jack could strike the fallen samurai again.

"Jack stop this before I have to banish you!" Farren warned. Jack reluctantly let go of his sword and lifted his hands up in some sort of surrender.

"Why would it matter?' he asked. "You prefer Gakupo to the rest of us anyway."

"To me, the Legendary Five and Gakupo come first," she countered with a glare. "I care about all of you first!" The samurai stood up and staggered forward slightly.

"I've messed up your friendship, haven't I?" he asked faintly.

"No, you haven't," Farren said with a glare, though it wasn't intended for Gakupo. "It's this bastard who's trying to ruin it!" Gakupo looked at Jack wearily before he fell forward onto his face; the wound to the back of his head causing his lightheadedness. "Sakurajima, Aquarius, and Adrian please get Gakupo back to the camp." The three nodded their heads, gently lifted the unconscious samurai up between them, and carried him back to their camp, which left Farren alone with Jack. "Listen here, Zelpha, you had better accept that Gakupo is with us before I have to do the same thing to you that I had to do with Drake!"

"Gakupo will never be apart of the Legendary Five!" Jack shouted. "He's too reckless! He almost killed Drake to begin with no wonder he turned on us!"

"He only attacked Drake because he tried to harm _HIM_! Open your eyes, Jack! It was Drake's fault that he was banished for trying to harm the innocent! Not Gakupo!" Farren exploded.

"You're excessively protective over him," Jack said offhandedly. "You don't even see what he is capable of if he were to let his powers run wild. He can't control what he has! And he never will!"

"SILENCE!" Farren shouted. The wind started to pick up around then quickly. "Either accept him or else you're out, Zelpha! End of story!" Jack flinched slightly but it was only momentarily.

"Do you what you want, Hawkins, you always do," Jack said. He turned his back on her and started to walk away.

"Pathetic bastard…" Farren muttered under her breath before she vanished and reappeared in the camp.


	29. Battle of the Odds

Chapter 29

Battle of the Odds

Sakurajima, Adrian, and Aquarius have laid Gakupo down by the now burning fire; Sakurajima has tended to the rest of his wounds. Adrian looked up at Farren as she approached them. "So where's Jack?' he asked his cousin.

"He wondered off somewhere after I had a go at him…" Farren answered with a sigh. "The selfish fucking bastard…" She walked over to a tree while muttering under her breath.

"What did he do after we left?" Aquarius asked her. Farren grunts and didn't answer as she stared at the ground. The samurai grunted in protest as he woke and tried to move. Farren looked up and at Gakupo, who groaned in pain as a sword went through his stomach from thin air. Farren immediately stood up.

"GAKUPO!" she yelled frightened. Jack appeared in front of Gakupo as Farren ran down towards them with her sword drawn and at the ready. "ZELPHA!" she yelled. Jack made another sword appear in his hand and stabbed it through the samurai's stomach. Farren ran at Jack swinging her sword at him, which he dodged easily. Farren aimed another strike at him, but he dodged again as Adrian and Sakurajima take the swords out of Gakupo's body causing him to groan in pain. Farren once again glared at Jack.

"You fight like a two year old, Hawkins," Jack said snidely.

"I could take on two of you at once if I wanted!" Farren countered. Drake appeared on Jack's left side

"Oh, really?" Drake asked. Farren looked from Drake to Jack and back again.

"So you finally decided to show yourself again, eh Drake?" she asked him.

"What's it to you, Hawkins?"

"It means that I can take both of you ON at once!" she declared. Gakupo's other sword flew out of nowhere and she caught it with her free hand. The samurai himself staggered to his feet and walked over to Farren. "Gakupo, you need to stay back." The samurai touched her forehead with his left hand; his body disappeared from view, she blinked in confusion at this. The two samurai spoke to Farren through telepathy.

"Let us help you in some form…" they said together in her mind.

"All right then," she answered with a smile.

"I lend you my powers over Fire and Light," Gakupo said in her mind.

"I lend you my powers over Darkness," Obsidian added in.

"Thanks you two," her mind replied back as she felt the energy surge through her.

"You are very welcome," they both said at the same time. Farren smiled and turned to face Jack and Drake. The two looked back at her in turn.

"Did the coward of a samurai flee?" Drake sneered.

"He's so pathetic that he needs a woman to defend him," Jack said cruelly.

"Both of you are wrong," Farren interrupted. "He lent me his strength so that I can defeat you both. He didn't flee. Another thing, he doesn't need protecting, he protects me!"

"It seems like you've been protecting him more than he's been protecting you," Drake input.

"Shut up, you son of a bitch!" Farren cursed her former friend.

"He is a worthless samurai that should perform Hara-kiri on himself," Jack sneered.

"Geez, can you guys stop with the talking so that we can start fighting…?" Farren asked as she lowered her swords. "That is unless you're too scared to fight me because you know that I will beat both of you…!"

"We will soon see," Drake said as he drew his sword. He readied himself for a fight and Jack followed suit. Farren got ready to fight as well knowing Drake and Jack will pull all the stops just to win.

"Gakupo, Obsidian, are you both ready?" Farren asked the two samurai in their minds.

"We were born ready," they answered immediately.

"Then let's go!" she said with a grin. Drake and Jack charged at their former leader. Farren charged at them with her swords at the ready. Drake's sword grazed her right side and Jack's sword grazed her left side. Farren jumped into the air, spun around, and aimed her swords at their heads. Both boys ducked under the blades. Farren landed on the ground, skidded to a halt, and looked at them.

"Let me try something," Gakupo said in Farren's mind.

"Be my guest," her mind replied back.

"Although this may seem a bit weird for you…" Gakupo warned in her mind.

"Why's that?" her mind questioned him.

"You will see," Obsidian said to her telepathically. Gakupo took over Farren's body, which took on the appearance of the purple-haired samurai as he took charge.

"What the –?" her mind questioned in shock.

"It is an illusion created by us sharing your body," Obsidian said in her mind.

"It lets someone know who has control of the body at the moment," Gakupo said in Farren's mind.

"Right…" Farren said in their minds. Gakupo confronted Drake and Jack. The two deserters ran at the samurai with their swords at the ready. Gakupo lifted both of his arms up into the air and fire surrounded his body. Both boys swung their swords at the samurai. Using his own influence, Gakupo caused Farren's body to take on the form of the black sphinx that Drake unlocked for him.

"Gakupo has control of that body now…" Drake growled.

"That's not good…" Jack muttered.

"Damn straight it isn't!" Farren said telepathically to Gakupo and Obsidian. The samurai sphinx confronted Drake and Jack again but this time with a loud echoing roar.

"Gakupo's pissed…" Obsidian said in Farren's mind.

"He's very pissed," Farren agreed telepathically. Drake and Jack nodded at each other and then ran at Gakupo.

"He has to be in order for him to take on this form early on in a fight," Obsidian said through telepathy. The sphinx dodged the pending attacks by taking flight.

"Good luck to them then," Farren said. Drake jumped after the sphinx with his sword at the ready.

"Yeah, I'd say," Obsidian agreed. The sphinx smacked Drake out of the air with his left massive paw. Drake landed roughly on the ground but got back up again.

"Stupid Neko…!" Drake hissed as he dusted off his clothing and picked up his sword again.

"Call me that one more time and I'll rip you limb from limb," Gakupo growled angrily. Drake and Jack looked at each other momentarily with a smirk.

"They wouldn't dare…" Farren uttered.

"You don't want to see my true form," Obsidian said, knowing what was to come next.

"You're a stupid Neko!" Drake and Jack said simultaneously.

"Yep… they said it…" Farren said with a shrug. Gakupo switched places with Obsidian who took on his true form of a black dragon. "Whoa!" Farren breathed in surprise.

"He's a dragon huh?" Drake grunted not amazed.

"Yeah I told you that you wouldn't want to see my true form," Obsidian said telepathically to Farren ignoring Drake's comment. The black dragon landed in front of Drake and Jack shaking the ground around them.

"You look awesome!" Farren said in the dragon's mind. The dragon's scales glistened in the light of the fire and the others realized that he wasn't a Black Dragon, but in fact he was an Obsidian Dragon; one of the forgotten Jewel Dragons.

"Thank you," came the dragon's reply. Drake and Jack ran at the dragon, who swatted them aside with his tail as his wings opened wide. The two deserters skidded away and then ran at him again. "You two are no match for me," he said to them in a hoarse voice. He flapped his wings causing the boys to be blown backwards. They landed roughly on their backs and the dragon laughed at them. "Farren?" Obsidian said in her mind.

"Yes?" came her reply.

"Would you like to finish this up?" he asked her.

"I would love to with much pleasure. However, I shall go at them with both sunlight and wind!" she declared.

"Do as you please," the black-haired samurai said in her mind. Obsidian let Farren take control again and her body returned to normal. Farren stood still as yellow flames surrounded her left-handed sword and a green tornado surrounded her right-handed sword. She shifted her footing slightly before she launched herself at the two boys; they dodged the attack quickly. Farren jumped high into the air and crossed her arms over her chest. She then flung open her arms and a huge wave of sunlight combined with wind shot from the blades of both swords heading straight for Drake and Jack.

They tried blocking the attack, but it failed. Farren landed on her feet on the ground and ran past them; slicing their stomachs with her swords. She stopped about five feet behind them. They both yelled in pain as the swords dug into their sides and then the collision on the wave hitting them. The two were sent backwards, past Farren, and into two trees before they landed flat on the ground.

Gakupo watched silently as Farren finished the two off, though she didn't kill them. Farren stood up completely unharmed by the wave. The samurai separated from Farren's body and fell to his knees. He was still bleeding heavily from the wounds that Jack inflicted on him earlier.


	30. Blades of Poison

Chapter 30

Blades of Poison

Gakupo remained on his hands and knees, blood oozing from his wounded stomach. Farren looked at the samurai with concerned gray eyes. "Sakurajima! Aquarius! Adrian!" Farren called to each of them in turn. The three of them snapped out of the daydream haze that they had fallen under when Obsidian made his appearance in his true form.

"Huh?" all three of them asked as one.

"Sakurajima, please help Gakupo. Adrian and Aquarius please chain Drake and Jack to the trees," she instructed. The three of them nodded their heads and did what they were requested to do. Farren sighed and sat down with her head leaning against the trunk of a tree feeling exhausted from using both elements at once. Gakupo looked up at her his blue eyes dulled by pain. "That took more out of me than I expected…" she muttered more to herself than to anyone else. She could see a large amount of blood pouring out of the samurai's stomach; Sakurajima was at a loss on what to do. Farren got up and walked over to Gakupo. She placed her hand over his wounds and started to heal them with sunlight. Gakupo grabbed her hand lightly to stop her and shook his head no.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. "I need to heal you soon…" she saw a greenish tint to the blood that was oozing out of Gakupo's wounds.

"Jack poisoned me… I need to bleed out the poison before I'm healed, otherwise I would just die anyway…" Gakupo answered.

"Oh my…" Farren said lightly unable to find decent words to say.

"He's losing too much blood…" the Kitsune said in a low voice.

"Good luck healing him now, Farren," Drake sneered.

"He's as good as dead…" Jack added.

"Aquarius and Adrian can you two please knock them out for me?" Farren asked them. "They're starting to get on my nerves." The two boys nod their heads and knocked Drake and Jack out cold by using the butt end of their swords or daggers before either of them could say anything more. "Thank you," she said in sweet relief.

"You're welcome…" Adrian answered.

"We still have to deal with Raven and Spirit…" Aquarius pointed out. The samurai was on his hands and knees as blood gushed from his stomach. Farren didn't reply to Aquarius but instead she knelt beside Gakupo.

"Oh, Gakupo…" she said in a sad voice before she looked up at the Kitsune. "Sakurajima, what can we do?"

"I guess we let him bleed the poison out…" she suggested unable to think of anything else. Gakupo's eyes were starting to lose color and he tried to stand up only to fall back down again.

"We need to help him now or he'll bleed to death!" Farren said urgently.

"He won't let me heal him though!" Sakurajima objected.

"He never really accepts help. He thinks it will make him less of a warrior," Obsidian said in a cool voice as he appeared next to Gakupo.

"Oh… I see…" Farren said slowly.

"He was never offered help before. He doesn't know what help really is," the black-haired samurai continued to explain.

"Oh dear," was all Farren could say to that. The purple-haired samurai looked up at Farren as blood rolled down his chin. Farren could only look at him with a worry in her eyes. "Gakupo…"

"Farren…" the samurai said slowly and faintly. Farren saw that the green tint in Gakupo's blood was nearly gone; his ears were back though the right one had a rip in it.

"Gakupo let me heal you…" Farren said to him. Gakupo only looked at her for a long moment before he spoke.

"Go right ahead…" was all he said to her. Farren nodded her head and placed her right hand on the samurai's chest. She began to heal him, who flinched slightly at this. Farren moved her hand away after a few moments all of Gakupo's wounds were fully healed. Gakupo looked away as his ears went down more. "Thanks…" he said in a faint voice.

"You're welcome," she said almost cheerfully. The black-haired samurai disappeared again letting his voice echo around the group.

"We have company…" he said to them. Farren stood up immediately and looked around.


	31. Dragon versus Sphinx

Chapter 31

Dragon versus Sphinx

As Farren continued to look around, she saw Spirit as well as some of the other Shadowbane members standing by the camp entrance. The samurai stood up and put himself in front of Farren protectively. "If you want her Spirit, then you'll have to go through me first!" Gakupo warned.

"You will fall easily Neko Samurai," Spirit said with a hiss.

"Gakupo no…" Farren said slowly. The samurai used his left hand to unsheathe his sword which he held at the ready.

"Fight me if you dare, Spirit!" Gakupo challenged.

"Gakupo don't… I just healed you…" Farren said meekly. The samurai looked at her and showed her his missing head before smiling.

"I'll be fine…" he said to her before he looked back at Spirit. Farren shook her head and moved to stand beside the samurai.

"If you're going to be fighting then so am I!" Farren declared. Sakurajima, Aquarius, and Adrian stand beside Gakupo as well.

"So will the rest of us!" Adrian said.

"I will fight beside you, Gakupo," the Kitsune said.

"I-I will too," Aquarius stuttered. The leader of the Legendary Five smiled as Gakupo looked at all of them unable to speak for a while.

"Thank you all," the purple-haired samurai said at last.

"I am here too, Gakupo," Obsidian said to him telepathically.

"You're a part of me so of course you're here too," he retorted back telepathically. Farren pulled out Gakupo's second sword which she still had. The samurai looked at the sword in her hand in silence. He stuck his current sword into the ground and then he ran his hand over the blade of the sword that Farren was holding infusing it with his elements. Farren blinked in surprise at this. "There," he said with a smile.

"What did you just do?" Farren asked him. Gakupo drew his sword from the dirt again as he answered.

"I infused that blade with my elements."

"All right… let's do this…" Farren said with a smirk.

"Do you really think that I will let him fight by your side?" Spirit asked with a sneer. Farren gritted her teeth as the samurai tensed his muscles.

"What do you mean…?" Gakupo asked slowly.

"It's just what I said. You're mine no matter how much you fight it, Neko Samurai," Spirit said.

"He won't be your once I've killed you, Spirit!" Farren declared.

"You'd have to get through him first," the white-haired man warned her. "Are you willing to kill the man that you so love, Farren Hawkins?" Farren backed away a little. The samurai went to his knees trying to fight the imposing will on him, his sword's blade dug deep into the dirt.

"No–!" Gakupo gasped. His eyes flashed red and then blue again. "Get out of my head–!"He let out a roar as his body began transforming.

"Gakupo!" Farren cried in alarm. She heard Spirit laugh menacingly.

"He is mine and will always be mine until he's dead!" Spirit said gleefully. The samurai shifted to his Sphinx form and stomped his forepaws on the dusty ground. Farren backed away from the black sphinx along with the others; her eyes were wide with fear.

"We are done for, aren't we, Farren?" Sakurajima asked.

"I will not give in so easily. Gakupo would want us to fight on," Adrian said.

"Even if it's against him?" Aquarius asked.

"Yes, fight on, he wants you to free him," Obsidian said telepathically. Everyone looked at Farren for instructions. The leader of the Legendary Five looked at her friends in silence while she thought of what to do next.

"Alright then… we will fight on…" Farren said reluctantly.

"He will fight you all and then he will die," Spirit declared. The black sphinx stomped his forepaws again. Farren looked at the sphinx again and then at Spirit. The white-haired man gave a simple wave of his hand and the sphinx attacks his friends.

"His will is gone–!" Obsidian said in everyone's minds.

"Yeah, that has been duly noted," Farren said bluntly.

"We may have to kill him this time in order to free him…" Obsidian said slowly.

"That's what I was afraid of…"

"I don't want to kill him because if we do, then I will die as well…"

"I know that…!" Farren said in the black-haired samurai's mind with a sharp tone.

"But we must do what we have to in order to help him…"

"Yeah, I know…" she said reluctantly. The sphinx attacked again, his forepaws missing Sakurajima by a few inches. The Kitsune dodged again as the sphinx attacked nonstop. Farren ran at him, her sword held at the ready.

"Kill me Farren–!" Gakupo's voice rang in her mind with a sharp hiss. His voice rang through Farren's mind with pain and sadness. Farren took a deep breath and swung her sword at the sphinx's chest. He smacked her away with his right forepaw. She landed on the ground hard but managed to get back up again. Gakupo put his face close to Farren's face and growled. Farren aimed her sword at the sphinx's head. He smacked her away again with simple ease. Spirit was watching silently as the battle occurred down below; there was laughter in his eyes. Sakurajima and Aquarius ran towards Gakupo, both ready to attack. The sphinx used his tail to sweep them off their feet.

Adrian ran towards Gakupo and tried stabbing him with his scythe. The sphinx smacked Adrian away from him. Farren got up and jumped onto Gakupo's back slicing continuously at the back of his head. He staggered, used one of his paws to get her off his back and slammed her onto the ground. Farren rolled on the ground and looked up at the sphinx. She saw blood rolling down his back and neck. "It is hopeless in freeing him," Spirit said slowly. "He will fight until he dies." Farren ran at Gakupo again with Adrian and Aquarius beside her. The sphinx swatted all three of them aside.

"Damn it…" Farren cursed. Obsidian appeared in his dragon form and tackled Gakupo; toppling him to the ground with simple ease. "That was a nice one, Obsidian!" Farren cheered. The dragon and the sphinx attacked each other until Obsidian had Gakupo pinned to the ground with his paw on his throat. Farren stood up again. The sphinx snapped at Obsidian as his hindpaws worked on trying to free himself. "Be careful, Obsidian!"

"Why?" the dragon asked in a raspy voice.

"He might try to hurt you," Farren warned.

"He can't harm me," the dragon said bluntly as he released his hold on Gakupo. "My scales are too thick for his claws to penetrate." He swatted the sphinx across the ears.

"Right," Farren said slowly. The sphinx looked from Obsidian to Farren and then to the others. Farren merely looked at the sphinx without saying a word.

"Farren… help me…" Gakupo said in a low voice. Obsidian launched himself at Spirit and smacked him out of the sky where he crashed to the ground next to Farren. The Legendary Five Leader quickly stabbed her sword into Spirit's throat as soon as he landed on the ground. Spirit choked on his own blood and tried to free himself. Farren only dug the blade deeper into the white-haired man's throat.

"That's for everything that you have done, you selfish bastard!" Farren growled. Spirit used some of his energy and managed to disappear. Farren watched the blood roll down the blade of her sword and let out a heavy sigh.

"Spirit is greatly wounded so he won't be back for some time," Adrian said.

"Yeah, that's good…" Farren said slowly. The black dragon disappeared from the area. When they looked around they saw that Sakurajima was missing. "W-where's Sakurajima?" Farren asked scared. The purple-haired samurai shifted back to his humanoid form this time he was naked and he looked around without saying a word.


End file.
